Built From The Ashes
by Elizabeth Bathory
Summary: Post IW - In the wake of The Snap, Thor and Shuri find themselves in uncharted territory. After facing devastating losses and thrust into power, two unlikely survivors find that helping their people might just help them as well.
1. Chapter 1

BUILT FROM THE ASHES

As darkness descended on Wakanda, the screaming finally started to quiet. The shock of the dusting was moving to rediscovery to see who had remained and reaching out to them. The remaining Avengers had taken refuge in Wakanda's palace under the hospitality of T'Challa's mother and now Queen Shuri.

None of the Avengers had a moment to let themselves truly feel what happened after the Snap. Everyone of them had watched friends disappear before their eyes as did the rest of the universe but they were needed to attempt to reign in the chaos that it had caused. It was only when night fell that they could truly allow themselves the time they needed to process what had happened, find out which of their loved ones survived the Snap and grieve for those who did not.

The palace grew silent as each of the Avengers retired after having supported each other in mourning. Bucky, Sam, Wanda, Vision, T'Challa, Groot and so many others were gone. No one knew where Tony even was or if he had survived. What happened to Peter and Strange? The remainder of the Guardians. So many unanswered questions that could not be solved.

Shuri walked silently through the halls, making sure all of her guests were comfortable. It's what her brother would have done. Sleep was impossible and going to her lab was just as undesirable at the moment. As rain softly began to fall, she found peace in it as if the Earth itself was weeping for what happened. Shuri let herself become lulled by the sounds of the falling drops only to be brought out of it when another sound had infiltrated...the sound of crying.

Shuri had initially believed she was the lone one still awake and roaming the halls but the sounds of grief led her to trying to track down where they were coming from. It didn't take long for her to find the source. She could only see his back at first, his head hung low as he sat on a bench on the balcony just out of reach of the rain. "Captain Rogers?" she called out gently to announce her approach.

"He left a little while ago," he replied brokenly, trying to hide the hitch in his voice and the sniff.

"Then I don't believe we have had the pleasure," Shuri answered as she walked closer. "I am Shuri, Princess...now Queen of Wakanda."

Upon hearing her voice grow closer, he immediately stood up and faced her. "Forgive me, my Lady...Your Majesty, for not properly introducing myself sooner," he said apologetically as he straightened to his full and impressive height. "I am Thor, King of Asgard," Thor offered as he bowed his head to Shuri in respect.

"I have heard much about you from Captain Rogers and Agent Romanoff. It is an honor to finally meet you," Shuri offered as she gestured for him to sit. "I wish it was under better circumstances. I recall that Agent Romanoff had said you were a god and a prince."

"I only recently ascended to the throne after my father had gone to Valhalla," Thor responded sadly. "But I am now a king with no home," he said sadly as he closed his eyes against the tears welling there. "Asgard is gone and what is left of my people is floating helplessly in space after Thanos attacked. I've failed them."

Shuri felt great sympathy as she listened to Thor speak. "If we can contact the ship, your people can live here in Wakanda. This can be their home."

Thor turned to Shuri and his expression of shock melted into one of pure gratitude. "Your kindness will be remembered among what is left of my people for all time. Tributes will be made in your honor," he exclaimed. "It is extremely generous to open your lands up to someone you barely know. I've...we've lost so much recently and when one faces so much hardship, it is easy to lose hope."

Shuri noticed how he corrected himself and tried to hide the glassiness of his eyes. It was obvious that he was trying to hold himself together and not doing a very good job of it. It was not just the battle that had taken its toll on him but something more that he wasn't willing to let on to yet. "Hope is all that we have now," she said softly as she took his hand. "I want to help...if you'll let me."

As Thor looked down at the small hand that took his, all resolve he had left vanished. He closed his eyes and let the tears fall that had been building there as he nodded. "I am not worthy of such kindness."

"Yes, I believe you are. If you were unworthy, your heart would not openly show how much you care," Shuri replied with a soft smile as she wiped away a tear with her thumb. "Tomorrow, we will go to work. I believe our technology is strong enough and I know Dr. Banner can help. Tonight, you should try to rest. Asgard will need her king to be functional when we find them."


	2. Chapter 2

Dawn did not arrive peacefully in Wakanda. The sun was barely above the horizon when Ramonda, the Queen Mother was already at conference with her daughter.

"Your coronation must not be put off. You are Queen and it needs to be recognized," she implored her daughter.

"Mother, there are more important things to acknowledge first," Shuri insisted. "We need to remember those who were lost and stabilize what we have left before we celebrate a throne I should have never have been given."

"Your coronation will help to bring that stability," her mother insisted again. "When your father died..."

"When Baba died, it was already assumed that T'Challa would take the throne. He was trained for it his entire life. He was supposed to live a long life and have many children with Nakia and pass the mantle on to one of his heirs. This was never supposed to be my burden to bear. Science and technology were my gifts. We can't crown me in a celebration when T'Challa only turned to dust yesterday!" Shuri cried out. "I know I need to assume the authority of the throne but the celebration can wait."

Ramonda could not argue the point further with her daughter. Shuri was right. Too many still mourned. "Then what shall we do first, my daughter?"

"I need to speak with the council on how we can proceed," Shuri answered. "But there is one thing I must tell you first."

"What is it, daughter?"

Shuri took a deep breath. "You know how T'Challa spoke of opening us up to the world? I went a little further than that."

"What did you do?" Ramonda asked cautiously.

"I invited some refugees to make their new home here."

"Refugees from where?"

"Asgard," Shuri responded.

"Where on Earth is Asgard?" Ramonda demanded.

"It's not on Earth, Mother," Shuri responded calmly.

"Aliens? Shuri, have you lost your mind?"

Shuri shook her head. "Not in the least, Mother. Their King, Thor, fought along side Captain Rogers and his Avengers. Beside T'Challa. Before the battle with Thanos, his world was destroyed and those who survived were attacked by Thanos. His people have lost everything and he was trying to help them."

"But you know nothing of him, Shuri," her mother insisted.

"Speak with him if you wish," Shuri countered. "Captain Rogers trusts him. Doctor Banner and Agent Romanoff trust him. I would suggest that you do it before the council meeting though because I will not take back my offer. If the remainder of his people are found, they can make a new home here."

"You speak with more wisdom than your years, child," Ramonda conceded. "I will speak with him. Where can I find him?"

"He's probably still asleep if he slept at all. He grieves greatly for those he lost and worries for his people. I don't suggest you disturb him."

"Then what do you suggest?"

Shuri thought about it for a moment. "The Avengers. We should meet with all of them as soon as possible. Then we can proceed with the council."

* * *

It did not take long to find what remained of the Avengers. They had taken solace with each other in one of the palace sitting rooms. They had watched their friends turn to dust before their eyes and were forced to swallow the bitter taste of failure. Captain Rogers, Colonel Rhodes, Doctor Banner, Agent Romanoff and a raccoon that was called Rocket were not just sitting around. They couldn't when everything had gone so far off from normal. Colonel Rhodes and Doctor Banner sat on one couch with laptops and cell phones trying to discover where the rest of their friends and loved ones were. Trying to discover if the dusting had reached farther. Captain Rogers and Agent Romanoff had just come back inside after dealing with what remained on the battlefield. Both moved almost robotic as they cleaned the grime as best they could from themselves while still dealing with the shock and grief of having their loved ones vanish before their eyes.

"Where is Thor?" Shuri asked, looking among the room and not seeing him. "Has he not gotten up yet?"

"He's awake. He just don't wanna be found," Rocket ground out.

"And how can you be so sure?" Shuri asked.

Rocket pointed out the window to the sky. Where the sun once was now had building dark clouds that seemed to threaten more rain. "When you've lost your father, your brother, your home, your friends and half of your people if not more...you don't want people buggin' ya at times."

Shuri looked at the sky and was a bit confused. "I don't want to bug him. I want to talk with him...with all of you. I need your help. Could you please get him?"

"You don't seem to get it, do ya?" Rocket snapped. "It's not a good time to be bargin' in on him. Let him be for now," he repeated as he pointed to the dark and rainy skies again.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she snapped at the raccoon. "What does the weather have to do with anything?"

"It reflects on Thor's emotions," Bruce spoke up gently. "Normally, he keeps it pretty well in check. Things only start changing with extreme emotions such as anger or...sadness. He's created some pretty wicked situations when he gets angry."

Everything was starting to click. Thor had only shared part of this the night before and now Shuri realized why he was so distraught. "Please don't go anywhere. My mother and I would like to speak with all of you. I'll be right back."

"Get ready for some lightning," Rocket grumbled as Shuri left.

Shuri went down the hall to the guest room that Thor was in. She looked at the dark sky cautiously as she knocked gently on the door. There was no immediate response, giving credit to the raccoon's statement. "Thor, it's Shuri. Will you please open the door?"

A few more moments passed as she heard footsteps behind the door. When Thor opened the door, Shuri's heart broke when she saw him. It was quite clear that he had slept very little. His eyes were definitely red and he was clearly exhausted. His armor, both physical and emotional, were long gone.

"You didn't listen to me last night," Shuri said with a smile. "I said you needed sleep."

"I tried," Thor replied brokenly. "It's hard when everything keeps playing back in my head. Thanos told me what he was going to do and I failed to stop him and millions died."

"What do you mean he told you what he was going to do?" Shuri asked as she took Thor's hand and guided him to sit down on his bed.

"As he was attempting to kill me, he said he was after the Infinity Stones. My brother Loki exchanged the Tesseract for my life and Thanos did not spare his," he explained sadly.

Shuri gasped as her hand went to her mouth at hearing this. "What was his plan exactly when he got all the stones?"

"To destroy half of all existence in the universe...to save it," Thor replied.

"So when people turned to dust..."

"It was everywhere," Thor replied sadly.

"Do the others know about this?"

"Only if Banner told them but Heimdall sent him off as the Hulk before he perished," Thor replied.

"I need you to come with me now and explain this to everyone else so we know what we are up against when it comes time to avenge the loved ones we all lost," Shuri urged as she stood up, gently pulling his hand. "Please, I need all the help I can get."

Thor nodded in agreement. "When?"

"The other Avengers are all together. I will convene the council and we will sort this out."

* * *

Shuri took the throne in the Grand Council chamber with Okoye on one side of her and Nakia on the other. Her mother sat off to her right and representatives of the five tribes surrounded her. "I've called us together so we can discuss what happened here yesterday. But first, allow in my guests." The doors opened and Steve, Rhodes, Banner, Natasha, Thor and Rocket walked in. "May I present members of the Avengers who fought so bravely along with my brother. Captain Steve Rogers, Colonel James Rhodes, Doctor Bruce Banner, Agent Natasha Romanoff of SHIELD, Rocket of the Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor, King of Asgard. Please tell them what you have told me."

"What happened yesterday was more than just the Mind Stone," Steve started.

"And many died because of it," Rhodey added.

"People did not just die here on the battlefield," Natasha spoke up.

"It was across the universe," Thor finished. "When Thanos gathered all of the Infinity Stones, he used them to extinguish half of all lives in the universe."

"And how do you know this?" one of the elders asked.

Thor sighed. "Because he told me so," he responded. "As he attacked my people who were already survivors of a home destroyed. He attacked them further and killed my brother and one of my most trusted friends. Now, what is left of my people are in a veritable life raft in space with the one warrior I still have that lives."

"So where do we go from here?" another of the elders spoke up.

"We find a way to reverse what he did," Steve stated firmly. "Some of our own are still unaccounted for and we hope they may still live and hold some answers."

"But first, we honor those we have lost," Shuri added. "Only then, can we build from their strength and our own to undo what has been done."


	3. Chapter 3

When the council meeting ended, there was work to be done. Steve, Rhodey and Natasha took to finishing off the battlefield. A certain amount of detachment was necessary to sort what was left. Complete the mission now and feel it later.

Shuri took Bruce and Rocket to her lab so they could start the search for the remaining Asgardians. Starting from the coordinates that Rocket remembered where Thor fell onto the Guardians' ship, Bruce and Shuri set up a system that could track signals in deep space. It was worse than searching for a needle in a haystack. This was trying to find a beacon of a tiny ship that may or may not be functioning at all in the endless darkness and farthest reaches of the universe.

Shuri was the first one to notice when Thor finally came in. She knew every sound and every inch of her lab so it was not easy for her to miss the soft whoosh of the door closing as he slipped in. He looked a little more put together than he did when she first woke him up in the morning. His hair was still wet from the shower and he was dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants, probably borrowed from Captain Rogers since she doubted he had a thing to his name at the moment. While Bruce and Rocket worked, Shuri noticed the look of awe on Thor's face as he entered her lab.

"I'm sure your home had something like this," she finally spoke up, alerting Bruce and Rocket that Thor had entered.

Thor shook his head. "Asgard more manipulated magic. My mother and brother were quite skilled in it. I have been in Stark's lab before and this would make him jealous."

"We'll be sure to tell Tony when we find him," Bruce interjected. "But first, we are looking for your people. They've been through enough. We can only hope that Tony is still alive and can fend for himself for a while longer."

"Thank you, Banner," Thor whispered in a voice he had never heard from the God of Thunder. He couldn't hide the fact that he was worried about what remained of the Asgardians that had fled Ragnarok.

"All these ships have rescue beacons attached to them," Rocket stated, trying to be reassuring. "I tried to set it up to get the range from a Sakaar ship. That's where you got it from, right?"

Thor nodded as he looked up with sad but grateful eyes. "Thank you, Rabbit. I'm glad we have your help."

Shuri hit a few keys on her keyboard and activated the search. "All we can do it wait now. Hopefully, our signal will reach theirs. We can go. I have alerts set up to notify us."

Thor shook his head. "I'll stay. I feel I should."

All of them knew that they could not argue with Thor when his mind was set. They also felt that he shouldn't stay alone.

"I can stay with you," Rocket spoke up before Shuri and Bruce as he sat down next to Thor.

"You don't need to," Thor protested. "I'll be fine."

"You don't look like a whole lotta fine. The skies are clouding up again," Rocket countered. "Anyway, gives me time to play with Shuri's toys," he added with a smirk in her direction.

"Don't you dare touch anything or you will find yourself in more trouble than you could ever imagine," Shuri warned. "I know everything that goes on in my lab."

Thor put his arm around Rocket's shoulders. "He won't do anything. I give you my word."

"We'll come back in a few hours," Bruce replied as he walked with Shuri.

"Thank you, Rabbit. You didn't have to stay," Thor stated after Shuri and Bruce had left.

"It wasn't just for you," Rocket replied. "I miss Groot. This is the second time that it has happened."

"Tree was a good friend and I am grateful for his branches for the handle of Stormbreaker," Thor responded. "I have mourned my brother as many times. It hurts more every time."

"Just don't go starting any wars like Drax did," Rocket added. "He thought he could best Ronan singled handed."

"I didn't start this war, Rabbit," Thor countered. "But given the chance, I will sure as hell finish it."

* * *

A few hours later, Shuri came back to her lab to check on Thor and Rocket. She was a little surprised at what she found. Rocket was gone and Thor was alone on one of the couches. There were several books next to him and dozens of small paper lanterns around him. "Where did Rocket go?"

"He was getting restless and felt his energy would be used better elsewhere," Thor replied as he was building another lantern.

Shuri sat down next to him and picked up the books, a Wakandan dictionary, a history book and a grammar book. "What are these for?"

Thor looked over at the books. "I hope you don't mind. I wanted to learn your language and more of your culture here."

"You read these all in just a few hours?"

"And memorized them," Thor added. "Though my brother would probably still have bested me. He was always more bookish than I was."

Shuri picked up a lantern made from green paper. It had writing on it that she didn't recognize. "Tell me about your brother, please."

Thor looked up and saw the look of genuine interest in Shuri's eyes when she asked her question. He looked back at the lantern he was making before he spoke. "Loki could be a pain in the ass at times but I always loved him," Thor started. "He was the God of Mischief and a master of Lies. He thrived on trickery. It was hard to tell when he was being truthful. After more than a thousand years together, I had a pretty good idea most of the time. I always thought he would be by my side. We were always there for each other when we were younger...protecting each other. I've mourned him three times now and it hurts more each time. My heart wants to believe that he will come back from this as well but my head won't let it."

Shuri saw the tear slip down Thor's cheek as he spoke of his brother. She placed her hand gently over his to provide some comfort. "I'm sure he knew you loved him."

"I just wish I could tell him once more...to make sure he knew it," Thor said with a sniff. "Tell me more of your brother. I only had the pleasure of seeing him on the field of battle."

Shuri paused for a moment and sighed as she picked up a silver lantern. "T'Challa was courageous, loved his family, wanted to do right by his people and the world," she started. "He had a lot to live up to and a lot that was expected of him. But that was the outward appearance. He would drive me up the wall. He'd come in my lab wearing sandals and beat my stuff up."

"He sounds like someone I would get along well with," Thor replied warmly.

"You would have," Shuri agree. "What's the story with the little lanterns? How did you get the things to make these with?"

"Your people are very kind and generous. I simply asked and they were more than eager to provide," Thor explained as he waved to the materials he had on the table. "In Asgard, when we send those who have passed to the afterlife, we light their way in the darkness. The funeral pyre is lit by our archers as it floats away and those gathered release globes of light to guide them safely into the afterlife. Without Asgard's magic here, I had to improvise. They should float up if I made them correctly."

"I know exactly where we can send them off. We should do it tonight. I think it can be arranged."

* * *

As the sun set on Wakanda, the remaining Avengers, Shuri and Rocket set off for the falls where T'Challa was challenged before his coronation. The path up the steep cliffs had been lit by torches earlier in the day to make it a little easier to navigate in the dark.

Shuri, Okoye and Nakia, in their ceremonial dresses, led the walk up the mountain as they each carried one of the lanterns for T'Challa. Thor followed behind the Wakandan women in his full armor with three of the lanterns, one for Loki, one for Heimdall and one representing the Asgardians that Thanos had killed on the refugee ship. Rocket fell behind Thor with a lantern for Groot and each member of the Guardians of the Galaxy they had not heard from. Steve followed Rocket with his lanterns for Bucky and Sam. Natasha was next in line to honor Wanda and Vision. Rhodey and Bruce were next, each with one for Tony since they did not know if he was still alive or not.

Looking out over the night sky, it seemed as if nothing was different than it had been just a few days ago but the darkness truly hid how much had changed. Okoye lit a candle from one of the torches to start lighting the lanterns. Shuri and Thor were the first to let theirs float off into the night sky and the others followed. As they floated away from the falls and into the night, hundreds more lights started to float up from the country below. They filled the sky with brightly colored lights, illuminating the darkness with hope. None of them realized how many others there would be.

"We have to undo this," Nakia whispered. "We can't forget all those who were lost."

"We're sure as hell going to try," Natasha responded. "We don't take getting kicked in the teeth well."

"We lost one battle. Not the war," Steve added. "We're not done yet."

"Thanos don't know who he pissed off," Rocket chimed in. "I got a few toys with his name on it."

"He will pay and he will pay over and over again," Thor added as he forced back the lightning in his fist. "He will not beat us again."

* * *

By the time the Avengers made it back to the city, most of Wakanda had retired for the night. Thor followed Shuri back to her lab, to see if any progress had been made. They noticed a message window up on the computer screen.

"What does it say?" Thor asked cautiously.

Shuri smiled. "We found your people."


	4. Chapter 4

Okoye flew out to the borders of Wakanda's airspace to guide the battered spaceship past their defenses. She had instructed the pilot that she spoke with to follow her no matter what and she would guide them to safety. Without her, there's no way that the ship would have made it through the decoy mountain which protected Wakanda.

Ramonda, the Queen Mother, Nakia and Shuri all stood with Thor as the ship landed on the strip outside the palace. The door opened and the survivors started to file out of the rescue ship. Some of them had tears in their eyes as they greeted Thor and embraced him, thanking him for their safe return. The Queens of Wakanda welcomed everyone as they exited, offering reassurances and showing the Asgardians where they can go for food and rest after their horrible journey.

As Valkyrie stepped off the ship with Korg behind her, she immediately turned towards Thor. "How goes things, Your Majesty?"

"Better now," Thor replied with a small smile. "Tell me how do they fare?"

Valkyrie looked over at the people who were being warmly greeted by the Queens of Wakanda. "They're tired, hungry and scared but I think they'll be better now."

"I can't thank you enough for what you did for them," Thor told her honestly as he hugged her in relief. "Is there anything I can do to repay you?"

Valkyrie shook her head. "I don't need repayment on this one. But we have something for you. We have them with us," she said softly as she placed something discreetly in his hand.

Thor froze in his tracks. "You have them?" he questioned to make sure he heard right.

Valkyrie nodded. "We were able to get Heimdall and Loki after everything happened. They didn't deserve that."

Thor opened his hand to see what Valkyrie had placed there. Loki's ring. He quickly waved Shuri over as two covered stretchers were brought out from the ship. "I know I am asking the impossible but if there is anything that can be done…please I beg of you..." he pleaded with her.

Shuri heard the desperation in his voice before she looked over at the covered bodies. She didn't know what she could do if anything. "I'll do what I can," she told him without hesitation. "Go with your people for now. Get them settled and I can start an examination."

Thor was torn between his duty as King and his duty to his brother and friend. "Perhaps I should be with you?"

Shuri waved him off. "Don't take this the wrong way but if there is as much damage as you have described to me, I don't believe you will do well with it. Let me work and I will send word for you through Nakia and my mother. I will care for them as if they were my own family but you need to go so I can," she told him, trying to get him to push past his reluctance to leave.

"Please let me know as soon as you can," Thor stated as he turned to follow Ramonda, Nakia and the Asgardians inside the palace.

* * *

After the Asgardians had time to rest and eat, Nakia guided Thor and his people to where the river tribes lived. These were her people and they were more than willing to open their homes to the Asgardians for as long as they needed to until they could build their own. As each Asgardian family got settled with a Wakandan family, Thor made sure that he thanked every one of them personally because he knew very well what an imposition this could be. He was eternally grateful for the kindness Shuri had shown by opening her country to his people and he was going to make sure that he repaid every bit of it.

* * *

Several hours had passed when Shuri called Thor back to the city. Thor was tempted to call Stormbreaker in to get back to the palace faster when Shuri reached out to Okoye to bring him back. He knew he was holding on to a very thin thread of hope here but he couldn't give up just yet. Loki had come back twice before. "Tell me what you have found," he said breathlessly as he greeted Shuri at the door of her labs.

Shuri looked up at Thor sadly as she took his hand and led him inside. She could see how much he was trying to hold on to the tiniest shred of hope and she had to give the bad news. "First, your friend..." she said as she walked up to the first table covered with a sheet.

"Heimdall," Thor added for her.

"From what I could tell, your people had tried to treat his injuries. His body seemed to expel a large amount of energy right before he was stabbed."

Thor nodded. "He called the Bifrost through him one more time to send Banner as the Hulk to Earth to warn of Thanos' coming."

"That expulsion of energy in combination with his injuries led to what finally made his body give out," Shuri explained sadly. "I'm so sorry."

Thor swallowed hard and tried to blink away the tears that welled in his eyes. "He will be honored in the halls of Valhalla for all ages. He died protecting what remained of Asgard. I will need to make sure he is properly honored."

"I will help you in anyway you need," Shuri said gently as she led him further back into the lab to where Loki had been brought.

On another table, far in the back, Loki's body was laid out. His clothes had been cut away to reveal his gray skin and multitude of bruises and injuries. The hand shaped bruises on his neck stood out the most from where Thanos had strangled him. There were sensors and tubes all over him, most of which Thor had no understanding.

"Your brother though is a different situation," Shuri tried to explain. "He scared us at first with the color of his skin. We thought he was already gone. Once we got the chance to thoroughly examine him, he still had some signs of life. He had an array of injuries from the simple with the deep bruising to the complex where his throat was crushed. It's like he's on the threshold of death's door and he doesn't know which side to be on."

"He was not born on Asgard," Thor said softly as he wiped tears away from his eyes and took Loki's hand in his. "He was born on Jotunheim. My father adopted him when he was cast out to die by his own race. When he was born, he was blue-gray but my father had put an enchantment on him to have him blend in better with other Asgardian children. As an adult, he could maintain the illusion himself but not in this state."

"I know you said that there were things you wished to tell him and this may be your only chance," Shuri told him gently. "Your brother may not be long for this world. I have set up my best methods to heal him but it's up to him if he is still in the fight. Hearing you may give him the strength he needs. Take all the time you need."

Thor pulled up a chair next to Loki as Shuri backed off to give him some privacy. "I'm sorry that I said you were the worst brother. I didn't know what you had intended to do when I said it and I wish I could take it back. I don't want to wait until I see you in Valhalla for the sun to shine on us again. I want it now." Thor's voice cracked with a sob that he didn't even try to hide. "I want you by my side. I need my brother by my side." Thor barely got the words out before he broke down completely, his head down against his brother's chest.

Shuri couldn't stay back any more when she heard him burst into tears. She came back in, wrapped her arms around Thor's back and rested her head against his as he cried, trying to give him any comfort that she could. It was only moments before he lifted his head and turned to her. Shuri guided him to her shoulder, wrapping one arm around his back while the other stroked his hair, letting her own tears fall silently with him.

Thor fell into Shuri's arms without thinking. He finally fully let all his grief out as he held onto her, trying not to crush her small form. He had been holding everything he had been feeling back for so long that there was no way he could stop.

Shuri didn't know if minutes or hours had passed as she held Thor and honestly she didn't care. He needed to get everything out and wasn't going to let her friend suffer alone. When Thor finally stopped crying and lifted his head, Shuri could see that even though he was still wrecked he was doing better.

"I'm sorry," Thor whispered as he roughly wiped away what was left of the tears with the heel of his hand.

"Don't you dare apologize," Shuri replied as she took his face in her hands. "You're allowed to grieve. You're allowed to feel pain. You can only hold that in for so long before you break. I bet you feel a little bit better after that."

Thor nodded through a small and sad smile. "I would like to stay with my brother, if you don't mind."

"I don't mind. It might do him some good. But don't forget about yourself as well," Shuri reminded him as she went over to her computer.

* * *

Three days passed before Loki regained consciousness. Over those three days, his vital signs were improving, he started breathing more on his own and the gray color of his skin started vanishing.

When she heard a ragged cough, Shuri looked up from her work station to see Loki's eyes open and him starting to struggle with the IVs that were attached to him. "Good afternoon, Loki," she said warmly as she smiled at him. "My name is Shuri and you are on Earth...in Wakanda," she explained as she she untangled IV tubes and detached a few.

Loki tried to focus on the girl in front of him but everything was very confusing. He last remembered being choked by Thanos and now he was waking up in what seemed to be a healer's room. "Where's Thor?" he rasped out, wincing with the pain as he spoke.

"You may want to refrain from speaking for just a little while longer. Your throat took some serious damage and it is still healing, even if it is at an impressive rate," Shuri cautioned.

"Where's Thor?" Loki tried again to say despite the pain.

"Your brother was right. You are a stubborn one," Shuri smiled. "I'm hoping he's sleeping because he didn't leave your side for two and a half days. Never doubt how your brother feels about you ever again. It took several of us to convince him that you were not going to perish the second he left you and that if he wanted to care for you and your people, he also had to take care of himself. That convinced him to get some real food and some actual sleep in a real bed instead of that couch."

Loki was a bit surprised at Shuri's explanation of Thor's behavior. He turned his head slowly to see the absolutely tiny couch that was barely more than a chair. "How did he fit?" Loki mouthed.

Shuri laughed. "He didn't. It was absolutely painful to watch." Shuri checked over Loki's progress once more. "I am happy with how you are progressing and I would feel comfortable with moving you to a more comfortable room with more privacy. I am still going to monitor you for a bit longer. I will have to wake Thor up because he insisted that you are staying with him."

Loki sighed and rolled his eyes. "Be careful," he whispered.

"Why would I need to be careful?" Shuri inquired.

"He's impossible to wake up and when you do he's very grumpy."

* * *

Over the next hour, Shuri and an exhausted and groggy Thor managed to get Loki moved into Thor's room. Shuri set up the sensors on the bed and set Loki up with a fully loaded tablet so he could read, watch movies and text what he had to say until his voice came back.

Shuri avoided going to check on Loki's progress until after dinner to allow him time to rest after the afternoon's ordeal. Needless to say it didn't surprise her when she didn't receive an immediate answer when she knocked. She was about to open the door herself before it opened on its own to a dark room. Shuri walked in cautiously to find the only light in the room coming from Loki's tablet as he read and sipped at a cup of tea.

"How are you feeling?" she asked pleasantly.

Loki put a finger up to his lips to tell her to be quiet as he pointed over to the other bed where Thor was turned on his side with his back to Loki, sound asleep.

Shuri laughed. "I was in here earlier and I know he snores. How did you get him to stop?"

Loki smiled as he waved his hand to lift the magic he had placed on his brother before showing the tablet to Shuri.

 _Could you sleep with that going on? There's a reason why he is the god of thunderous snoring._

Shuri had to stop herself from busting out in laughter. "I take it you're feeling somewhat better."

Loki recast the spell on Thor and typed out his answer.

 _A little bit. It's frustrating that I can not use my voice._

"I completely understand but your throat had a great deal of trauma to it. If you push it too much, it will take longer to heal. Try to rest and you will make quick progress," Shuri replied as she started for the door. "By the way, what happens if you don't remove the spell when he wakes up?"

Loki laughed and then hissed in pain. He typed out a quick answer. _A mute and infuriated god of thunder. Hilarious._


	5. Chapter 5

The sun had barely been up in the morning sky when chaos erupted between the two brothers.

"Loki, if you would just listen to me for once," Thor started. "I am trying to make sure you heal. I am not being unreasonable."

"Not being unreasonable?" Loki rasped out. "You're smothering me."

"You know you're not supposed to be talking yet. Any unnecessary stress on your throat will set back your healing," Thor countered.

That was the last straw for Loki. With a scowl on his face, he dug deep down to cast out his astral projection to do his arguing for him. "What do you expect me to do?!" Loki roared through his projected image. "I can't get my point across when I have to write everything out."

"You stupid fool," Thor spat. "You never listen. You were told not to use your magic because it takes the energy away from healing. Damn it, I have lost you too many times to just sit idly by and let you do this."

"What am I doing, Thor?" Loki growled. "I am pretty much bound to this bed. If I'm not sleeping, I'm reading or watching these Midgardian movies. I am going stir crazy and you breathing down my neck at every little thing I do is stifling! Find something better to do than harass me all day long!"

Thor was trying his damnedest not to lose his temper. He could feel the lightning starting to course through his arms and down to his fingers and he had to force it back. "If that's what you want, fine! Fend for yourself today. Don't come to me to pick your ass up off the floor!" Thor roared as he left the room, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

Steve was one of the few people awake that early but he guessed from the volume of the voices of Thor and Loki, there may be others now. He saw Thor come into the hallway, clearly pissed off at his brother. "Want to talk about it?" Steve offered as he held out an apple for Thor.

"Not particularly," Thor replied gruffly before thanking Steve for the apple.

"I got a better solution then. Come with me," Steve replied as he started leading Thor outside. "Maybe Bruce's other half would want to join us?"

"What are you planning?" Thor asked before everything clicked together. "I have had to face Bruce's other side recently and I don't think either of us want to go through the beating again. But I did win that fight."

Steve laughed as they walked into the palace courtyard, hoping this would have enough room for what he planned. "You fought the Hulk again? Where was this?"

"On Sakaar. It was part of their Tournament of Champions. Bruce was the Grandmaster's champion. That's where he was for two years," Thor replied. "What are we doing out here?"

"I think we could both use a little friendly sparring. We don't have Tony's reinforced punching bags here though," Steve said with a smile. "What do you think?" he added as he offered his hand.

Thor took Steve's hand with a smile. "I think you have an excellent idea, Steven."

* * *

Shuri knocked cautiously before she entered Thor and Loki's room. She was pleasantly surprised when she noticed the sun was lighting up the room and Loki was sitting up in bed on his own. "How are we feeling today?"

"Improving," Loki whispered with a smile as he put his book aside.

Shuri pulled a chair next to his bed as she examined his throat and the bruising. "I'm surprised that Thor isn't here."

"We had words of disagreement and he left," Loki rasped out.

Shuri sighed as she gave Loki a questioning look. "What did you disagree about?"

Loki shifted his gaze toward the blanket on his bed. "Thor believed that I needed constant care and I told him I didn't need to be smothered."

"You know he means well. He's just worried," Shuri replied. "You should go a little easier on him."

Loki was always more perceptive than Thor was, especially when it came to emotions. "You care for my brother, don't you?"

Shuri was a bit taken back by the boldness of Loki's statement but didn't let him see it. "I do care for him because he has become a very dear friend to me. We were brought together by similar tragedy."

Loki raised an eyebrow at her, questioning her if that was all but not voicing it. "A tragedy I don't plan on repeating anytime soon."

"That's good because I am expecting both you and your brother at my coronation as well as all your people," Shuri told him. "Will you be sure to tell Thor when he returns?"

Loki nodded. "When shall I tell him this happy occasion occurs?"

"Noon tomorrow. Now, rest," Shuri said warmly as she took her leave.

* * *

Hours had past before Thor returned to the city. The sun was nearly set when he stumbled back into his shared room with his brother. The suddenness of the opening door actually startled Loki.

Loki looked up from his book and was honestly surprised at the state his brother was in. His knuckles were bloodied and bruised. He had a bleeding cut over his eye as well as the side of his mouth. He was covered from head to toe in sweat and dirt. "Your eye is bleeding. I would think since you only have one of your own left, you would take better care. What have you been doing?"

Thor flopped into one of the chairs near the window. "The cut is nothing. Just a little friendly sparring to get some energy out."

"Who did you spar with? I've heard Banner's uglier half hasn't been seen since..." Loki couldn't finish his statement. He didn't want to remember the destruction again.

Thor shook his head. "No, not Banner. Though he was invited," he stated with a tired smile as he took a drink of water. "This was courtesy of Steven."

"The Captain," Loki recalled. "That explains the blood. What about the rest of you?"

"After our little workout, I took Steven out to where our people are getting settled and together we helped them with some of the construction of their own homes," Thor explained. "You should really come out with me. It would do our people good to see you doing so well rather than how they saw you last."

"Would it do them good seeing me barely able to walk more than a few steps on my own yet?" Loki countered.

Thor sat up, leaned forward and looked his brother dead in the eye. "You're alive," he stated firmly. "It won't matter if you can take one step or run a marathon. I will be by your side and you take strength from me until yours returns. "

"Our people may see me sooner than intended," Loki stated. "Lady Shuri was here earlier inviting all of us to her coronation ceremony tomorrow."

Thor nodded. "Then I think our people should see you tonight otherwise you may shock them quite extensively."

"I think our people would be more shocked by the state of their King at the moment," Loki snickered. "I think they would expect their King to not smell like a Bilgesnipe or be covered in shit like the back end of his horse."

Thor smirked and nodded before he picked up the closest pillow and chucked it at his brother before heading into the bathroom.

* * *

It was well past dark by the time Thor and Loki made it back out to the Asgardians. Thor was getting quite skilled at piloting the Wakandan speeder and it even impressed Loki. As they approached, they could see a large bonfire in the distance with many of their people sitting around it. As they got closer, the could hear laughter and singing and see the passing of food and drinks among them. The two brothers dismounted the speeder and came forward from the shadows towards their people. "May we join you?" Thor inquired first as they approached the fire.

"Of course, my King," a woman replied. "You are always welcome to join us." Then she stopped speaking as she caught that Thor was not alone. "My Prince, welcome back. Please sit. You must be tired."

Loki nodded and smiled to the kindness the woman was showing him. It was not long before he and his brother had been given plates and glasses to share in the celebration with the rest of their people. He gazed around at what he could see of the settlement and noticed that a great deal of work had been done in such a short time. But one structure on a hill caught his attention. It was considerably larger than all the rest. "What's that one up there?" he rasped out.

"That will be the palace, my Prince," a man replied. "It may not be quite as grand as the one that was on Asgard but it will serve purpose. There will be plenty of space for both you and the King."

Loki looked over at Thor. "Did you know about this?"

Thor sipped at the beer he had been given and nodded. "I've been helping them build it," he replied. "Father had always said we were both born to be kings and he was right. I know there are things that you are far more accomplished in than I am and I would be a fool to not have you rule with me by my side. I meant what I said. I need you, brother. I can't do this without you."

Loki was a bit taken back by Thor's statement but touched all the same. "What happens when you decide to marry? I'm sure your queen will expect to rule by your side."

Thor laughed. "Well, I guess you and her will have to argue it out who's on my right and who's on my left." Thor offered his hand to his brother. "What do you say, brother?"

Loki looked at his brother's offered hand and paused a moment before taking it. "Brother, it would be my honor."


	6. Chapter 6

An air of celebration hung throughout Wakanda that had not been present in recent days. Despite the tragedy that befell T'Challa, today the Wakandans celebrate their new queen.

As the Royal Talon flew through the canyons towards the waterfalls where everyone had gathered, Shuri had both knots and butterflies in her stomach. Her heart was racing and she was trying not to throw up over all of this. Before he official coronation, she had to face Challenge day and she desperately begged the Ancestors to not have anyone challenge her. She had a fair amount of skill with ranged weapons but hand to hand combat was not her strong suit. She deeply feared that she could lose the throne for her family.

As the door opened and the stairs lowered, Shuri could hear the chanting of celebration of her people. She stepped out into the light in her armor and scanned the crowd for familiar faces to give her strength. Her mother, Nakia, Okoye, Thor and Loki and the remaining Avengers were all together. Shuri smiled up at Thor, in his full armor like his brother beside him, glad to have a friend there on her side.

The High Priestess stepped forward. "I present to you, Princess Shuri. Today, she will rise to be our Queen if victorious. Victory in ritual combat comes by either by yield or by death. If any tribe wishes to put forth a warrior, I now offer a path to the throne."

Shuri's heart jumped into her throat as she awaited each tribe's answer.

"The Merchant Tribe will not challenge today," the elder called out.

"The Border tribe will not challenge today."

"The River tribe will not challenge today."

"The Mining tribe will not challenge today."

With every tribe refusing to challenge, it was more and more of a relief. Only two factions remained – the Jabari and the royal family.

M'Baku stepped forward and Shuri froze. "The Jabari tribe will not challenge today."

"Is there any member of a royal blood who wishes to challenge for the throne?" the Priestess offered.

"The Royal family stands behind Shuri," Queen Ramonda spoke up.

"If there are no challenges, I present to you Queen Shuri, the Black Panther," the Priestess called out as she placed the ceremonial necklace around Shuri's neck to cheers. As the Dora Milaje celebrated, Shuri crossed her arms in an X over her chest in celebration. "Wakanda forever!"

The High Priestess approached Shuri. "My Queen, it is time to take you to the Temple of the Ancestors."

Shuri nodded. It was time for her to take on the mantle of Black Panther. "I wish for certain people to accompany me on this journey."

"It is not necessarily custom, my Queen."

"I am aware of this but given the tragedy that we have all suffered, I need the support of my mother, Nakia and my friend, his Majesty the King of Asgard," Shuri commanded.

"But he is not one of us. Are you sure about this, my Queen?"

Shuri looked to the walls of the waterfall and nodded to her mother, Nakia and Thor and waved them over to join her. "He is my friend and a King in his own right. Am I sure? Absolutely."

* * *

The Temple of the Ancestors had been restored when T'Challa regained the throne after Killmonger. The burned gardens of the heart shaped herb had been replanted with plants and seeds found in the wilds of Wakanda to reestablish the future of the Black Panther as a guardian of Wakanda. As Shuri laid down in the red sands, the Shaman made up the elixir.

"Now, the elixir of the heart shaped herb will grant you the powers of the Black Panther and take you to the ancestral plane," the High Priestess announced as she tipped the purple liquid into Shuri's mouth. Her skin flashed purple as it started to flow through her. "T'Challa, we call you to come to your sister."

As the children began to cover Shuri with the red sand, Thor looked to Nakia and Ramonda for an explanation. "Why do they bury her?"

"It allows for the living to commune with the dead by isolation from the living world," Ramonda explained. "Her senses will open up to those who have passed on while being shielded from us."

* * *

Shuri plunged into darkness, reliving the battle with Thanos before awakening in the grasses of the savanna, surrounded by black panthers in the trees. She stood up and approached the tree as one panther stood and jumped down to her, shifting into her father T'Chaka.

"Daughter, why are you here?" T'Chaka asked with concern as he embraced her. "Where is T'Challa?"

"I am Queen now, Baba," Shuri replied sadly as she embraced her father. "T'Challa was taken in battle. A being from another world, Thanos, ended his life with the snap of his fingers. Okoye watched him turn to dust before her eyes."

"If my son is dead, he should be with us," T'Chaka responded.

Shuri looked around at the panthers surrounding her. "How can he not be here?"

"That is something you need to discover, daughter," T'Chaka told her as he hugged her again. "We can not allow your brother to be lost to us."

* * *

Shuri awoke from the sand, gasping for air. Thor pulled her out of the sand before the Priestess could. Shuri panted and coughed as she rested her head against Thor to regain herself. "T'Challa wasn't there. I saw my father," she gasped out as she steadied herself.

"What do you mean T'Challa was not there?" the Priestess asked.

"He did not cross into the Ancestral Plane. His soul is lost until we find it," Shuri spat.

Thor embraced Shuri to him to calm her shaking. "We will find him," he assured her. "If I have to crack open the Soul Stone personally, we will find your brother and send him home."

* * *

As part of the coronation, Shuri was required to make a processional throughout all the tribal lands in Wakanda before heading back to the capital city. Despite the warm outpouring of celebration that she was greeted with at each stop, Shuri did not feel much like celebrating. Just the knowledge that her brother's soul was lost somewhere instead of with the ancestors made her almost feel sick to her stomach. On the outside, she kept a smile on her face and thanked all her people for their celebration. On the inside, she was screaming at the top of her lungs.

When Shuri reached the lands where the Asgardians were living, the celebration had a different tone. They were jovial but there was something that just couldn't be explained how it felt different. As she was about to leave, a young girl approached her with a bouquet of flowers.

"Are these for me?" Shuri asked the girl with a warm smile.

The girl nodded. "Yes, my Lady. They are to honor you at tour coronation."

Shuri was still getting used to how formally the Asgardians spoke at times. "I thank you very much. I'm sure your King had just as grand of a celebration for his coronation."

The little girl's face turned a bit sad as she shook her head. "Our King had no celebration," she stated. "But he needs one. He's a good King and he helps us here every day but he needs a party."

Shuri didn't know how to respond to this. She didn't understand how Thor was not celebrated as King when he obviously cares so much for his people. "I'm sure he will have it one day. I thank you again, little one."

* * *

So much was going through her mind as Shuri made her way back to the capital city for the final party in her honor. T'Challa not being with the ancestors and what that may mean for his soul. Thor not having his own festivities. Being Queen in a world that has so many pieces to pick up. It was making her head spin.

Music blasted from the palace as lights lit up the city as everyone celebrated. Shuri made her way through the palace, greeting people as she went. It did not take her long to find her intended target. Off by himself, away from all the noise and revelry, sat Thor at the bar with a very large beer in front of him.

"What do you have there?" Shuri asked as she sat down next to him.

Thor looked up and smiled when he saw Shuri. "Boilermaker," he started as he took another large sip. "Your country's finest brew with a shot of something a little stronger. A friend introduced me to these on one of my earlier visits to Earth."

"I saw your friends in the other room and I was a bit surprised that you weren't with them," Shuri commented as she looked over to where the Avengers were. "I didn't see your brother."

"Loki is trying to avoid my friends since he may not be very well received right away after what he did to New York a few years back," Thor responded. "I really can't explain why I'm not with my friends. I guess I just found it hard to indulge in complete celebration."

Shuri wrapped her arms around Thor's shoulders and hugged him tightly. "I understand completely," she sighed. "Maybe together we can manage to have some fun tonight among the room full of revelers out there?"

Thor clasped his hand over Shuri's as he leaned his head against hers. "You have a good point. This is a party meant to celebrate you. We should join them. Has anyone ever mentioned how wise you are for someone so young?"

"Once or twice," Shuri laughed as she pulled Thor from the bar stool. "Think you can teach me some Asgardian dance moves?"

"I could try but I would probably make a fool of myself."

* * *

The next morning, after the dust from all the festivities had settled and life was attempting to go back to normal, Shuri was very curious about what she had heard the night before. After the morning council meeting, she hesitantly knocked on Thor's door. She held her breath, trying to think of the right way to ask but fate stepped in. Loki opened the door.

"Good morning, my Lady," he rasped out. His voice was getting stronger day by day.

"Is Thor here?" Shuri asked hesitantly.

Loki looked back into the darkened room before answering. "He is but he is not in a shape fit for company at the moment."

"What are you talking about?" Shuri asked, confused.

"My brother indulged a bit too much during the festivities last night and is now dearly paying the price for it," Loki responded with a small hint of enjoyment in his voice.

"You find his suffering amusing?" Shuri asked incredulously.

"When he's hungover and entirely did it to himself...yes. It's quite amusing," Loki responded. "He begged me this morning to shut out the sun as it was causing havoc with the splitting headache he has."

Shuri remembered how much Thor had drank just when she was around him and felt a little sorry for him. "I have some questions that perhaps you might be able to answer for me...about Thor's coronation?"

"Which one?" Loki countered.

"There's more than one?" Shuri asked.

Loki nodded. "Perhaps, we may have this discussion over breakfast?" he suggested as he shut the door behind him. "I do not wish to wake my brother and this is somewhat a lengthy discussion."

"Sure, I know someplace where we can go," Shuri agreed.

* * *

Shuri and Loki sat down in a small cafe down in the main part of the city. It was quiet and out of the way and Shuri thought there may be a whole lot more that she really didn't know. "Can you please fill me in about Thor's first coronation?"

Loki sipped at his tea and set down the cup. "Originally his...our father was going to elevate him to King of Asgard while he still lived so that he could learn by his side before he joined the halls of Valhalla," Loki started. "It was an enormous affair. All of Asgard turned out to see Thor's elevation with grand fanfare. As Odin was having Thor recite the oath, his coronation was interrupted by Frost Giants invading Odin's vault."

Shuri remembered that Thor had said Loki had been born elsewhere. "How did they get in?"

"Someone let them in," Loki responded, purposely avoiding the question.

"Was it known who let them in?"

Loki paused. "By some, yes."

"Did you know who let them in?" Shuri pushed a little bit.

"I did."

Shuri had a feeling he wasn't going to give anything else just yet. "What happened then?"

"Thor, Lady Sif, the Warriors Three and I went to Jotunheim on Thor's quest for revenge. Everything went horribly wrong very quickly and if Odin had not intervened, we probably would not have survived. Odin punished Thor after that by stripping him of his powers and banishing him to Earth only restoring his place once he proved himself worthy of it," Loki stated.

"I guess he proved himself worthy again," Shuri prodded. "Now, tell me about the second."

"After Odin had passed, our older sister was released from a prison that Odin had put her in. She, of course, tried to claim the throne for herself. Thor, despite how much he really didn't want the throne, realized that Hela could not be Queen. He stepped up and challenged her like the King he was always born and raised to be. Unfortunately, the only way we could defeat her was the destruction of Asgard. So, while he distracted her, Thor set me to cause Ragnarok – the destruction of Asgard. We evacuated what remained of our people on to a ship and set off into space as our home burned. It was on board the ship that everyone agreed that Thor should take his rightful place as our King. There was no crowds of people cheering – just survivors who were scared and hurt and looking for direction. No golden throne – just the Captain's chair on the bridge." Loki paused, trying to collect his thoughts. The destruction of Asgard weighed as heavy on him as it did Thor. "Thor wasn't ready to be King the first time. Odin always tried to make him in his image but that wasn't Thor and I have seen that since then. Odin never walked among his people. He stayed in his golden palace and looked down on them. Thor gets up every morning at dawn. He goes to our people. He helps them with construction, technology integration, acclimating to this new life. He listens to them when they come to him and despite being as bullheaded as I have known him, he responds to them with kindness and compassion. He exhausts himself to make sure that our people are taken care of. Odin could never do that."

"Your people want to honor Thor and celebrate him as I was," Shuri told him.

"He deserves it but he would never consent to it right now," Loki responded. "He, at times, does not believe that he is worthy of the throne."

"Then it is our duty to convince him."

Loki tipped his head to Shuri with a smile. "I wish you luck with that endeavor, my Lady, for I know only one person more stubborn than Thor and that was Odin."

Shuri smiled back. "I think I can handle it."

* * *

Later in the afternoon, Loki returned back to the dark quarters he shared with his brother. It was as he had left it hours before. There was Thor, passed out on the bed. He laid on his stomach with his arm over his eyes to block out any and all light possible. The garbage can was still near his head on the floor and Loki was very grateful that it hadn't been used. He walked over to his sleeping brother and adjusted the blanket for him. "Brother, I doubt you know how lucky you are to have someone like that girl care for you," Loki sighed. "And I dearly hope you never lose it."

* * *

It was early in the evening when Shuri finally saw Thor in a better state. She had ventured outside to one of the balconies after dinner and she found him there. Dressed in a gray hoodie with the hood up and black sweatpants, Thor relaxed on one of the lounge chairs in the cool night air.

"I'm glad to see you're feeling better," Shuri said warmly as she approached.

"I am. Thank you," Thor replied as he moved over in the chair to give her a space next to him. "I have no one to blame but myself for my own suffering."

"Your brother told me," Shuri laughed as she sat down. "What are you doing out here all alone?"

"I needed some fresh air after being cooped up all day," Thor admitted. "So, star gazing and listening to some of your country's magnificent animals did the trick."

Shuri smiled as she leaned into Thor's shoulder, listening to lions roar in the distance. "Maybe we can go out to see some of them in the morning."

"I think that would be quite enjoyable," Thor replied as he leaned his head against Shuri's.

Okoye hesitated at the door of the balcony. She didn't want to disturb the peaceful scene in front of here when it had been so absent as of late but this was urgent. "My Queen, we are receiving a message from space using Morse code."

Shuri broke apart from Thor with surprise at Okoye's voice. "What did it say?"

Okoye played back the digital recording of the letters as they came through. "SOS-TONY STARK ALIVE – AVENGERS RESPOND"


	7. Chapter 7

It was a whirlwind seventy-two hours from the received message from Tony Stark. In that short period of time, Tony landed in Wakanda with Nebula, got patched up, grabbed Rhodey and got on a plane for New York to check on Pepper and Happy despite Rhodey's repeated reassurances that he had personally spoken with them and they were alive and well. It was only after they had landed in New York that Rhodey sent word back that he and Tony would return once everything got squared away. There was just too much new technology that Tony had to play with.

* * *

Once the dust had settled from the tornado known as Tony Stark, Shuri could again focus on her little side project of making sure that Thor had the celebration he deserved. She just needed her co-conspirator. Thor had told Shuri that Loki was terribly difficult to find it he didn't want to be found so it didn't surprise Shuri when it took her until the late morning to hunt him down even with all her technology.

After Thor had left for the morning, Loki had taken to the garden on the side of the palace that overlooked the savanna. It was there that he could find enough quiet to properly stretch out his magic through meditation and regain its strength. With his senses fully open, he knew of Shuri's approach well before she reached the gate. "My brother was right. The animals are soothing."

"He was particularly fond of a pride of lions that lived near by," Shuri commented. "It was most interesting because it had two males leading it, not just one. I explained to him that most likely the two males were brothers."

"Two predators that can coexist is a rare feat," Loki commented.

"There's also about ten lionesses that will keep both of them in line if necessary," Shuri laughed. "Thor left early, didn't he?"

Loki nodded. "He leaves at dawn nearly every day."

"How long does he usually spend with them?"

"He is there until late afternoon most days," Loki answers. "He returns here to get cleaned up and rest a bit before dining with us and then he returns there at night."

"How do you suppose we plan his celebration and keep it a secret?" Shuri inquired.

"A shielding spell will do wonders but it will only hide so much for so long," Loki responded calmly. "But Thor can sense my magic and he will discover it eventually. To truly make this a surprise, Thor will need to be distracted and kept away."

"I don't plan on giving him a crisis to deal with to do this," Shuri countered.

Loki shook his head. "I did not say a crisis. I said a distraction," he stated as he turned to her. "He's throwing himself into this because he has nothing else to do. He is used to be used for battle. He would spend hours sparring and training with Lady Sif and the Warriors Three. Odin would send him as Asgard's enforcer with his friends. Thor thrives on action. He's not good with just sitting around. He was raised in the art of combat. He's bored for lack of a better term."

Shuri smiled as a brilliant idea came to mind. "I have just the thing which could work," she stated joyously. "For a bit of sport and fun, our tribes gather together on the week approaching the full moon. It's friendly competition in sparring and games. If we could inspire your brother to participate, it may be just our chance."

"My brother has never backed down from a challenge," Loki said with a smile. "Especially a big one." Loki paused for a moment, wondering if he should actually say what he was thinking. "Let me speak with him."

* * *

Loki went out to the Asgardian settlement to hunt down Thor. It did not take long to find him. He found his brother with several of their people and he was training them in the fine art of combat. Loki stood back and watched for a moment as he observed how Thor corrected when necessary but was still encouraging to foster and build success. He stepped forward to make his presence known. "Your skill is unmatched with large weapons, brother," Loki stated smoothly as he materialized his daggers in his hand. "But what about when you need to get up close?"

Thor bowed his head to Loki. "If you wish to share your considerable skill as well, please be my guest. I won't stand in your way."

* * *

Over the next few hours, Loki and Thor were side by side with their people. They weren't going to be able to rebuild Asgard's army as it was but at least having their people be able to defend themselves was a start. It was early afternoon when the brothers sat down beside the river to relax.

"You enjoyed that," Loki pointed out as he saw the relaxed smile on his brother's face as they sat in the sun. "You haven't smiled like this in quite sometime."

Thor nodded in agreement. "It did feel good. Almost freeing."

"You should do it more often," Loki commented. "You are giving all of yourself to our people as their king but taking no time for yourself. If you don't think of yourself on occasion, you're going to burn out and be miserable."

"I have different responsibilities now, Loki," Thor sighed. "I just can't go and leave everyone."

"I'm not talking about leaving everyone. I am talking about enjoying life still," Loki stated. "Look around, brother. I see our people in a far different state than what they were just a short time ago. I don't see fear and hopelessness. I see joy and a new sense of purpose. Our people were welcomed into the Wakandan homes while theirs were being built. Many of which you helped with. They are integrating into their new life and most of which is all your doing. Our people are flourishing again and I highly doubt they will fault you for taking some time for yourself."

"And do you have something in mind or am I limited to sparring with Steve?" Thor inquired.

"You came back with a bloody cut over your eye last time you did that," Loki pointed out.

"It was a little one."

"Still, you are used to constant activity and sitting around just isn't your style," Loki observed. "Lady Shuri has mentioned to me that her people hold games near the full moon on most months. She believes that you and our people will find them quite enjoyable and we are invited to attend."

"Did she put you up to this?" Thor inquired.

"It was a mutual decision."

* * *

Over the next few days, the people of Wakanda gathered just outside the city limits for friendly competition among the tribes. The same field where Thanos' armies were slaughtered now held soccer games and various competitions of combat. It wasn't until the last day where the real challenges came forward – hand to hand combat and jousting matches. Everyone gathered for these and most of the challenges were quiet friendly and fun until M'Baku showed up.

"Who's the strongest among you all to take me on?" M'Baku called out.

"Our King!" a female Asgardian voice called out, which made Thor's head and many others, including three surprised Avengers, turn in anticipation.

"Come forward and prove it!" M'Baku challenged.

Thor stood up from the crowd and came forward with a smile as he sized up his opponent. "You're big. Fought bigger."

M'Baku eyed Thor up and down, clearly sizing him up. "Not what I expected from a king."

Thor laughed to himself. "I have learned not to always match what people expect of me," he said with a smile. "So, this is your challenge. Would you like to initiate or should I?"

M'Baku didn't wait for any more formalities as he lunged at Thor, who stepped to the side and let M'Baku pass him. M'Baku turned and came at Thor again and again Thor evaded the attack.

"What is he doing?" Natasha commented as she watched. "He's playing games with him. He can easily take down this guy."

"Having been on the giving and receiving end of a battle with Thor, I'm going to agree with Nat," Bruce added.

"He's tiring him out," Steve pointed out. "The more M'Baku charges at Thor, the more energy he uses. Thor is going along the lines of a best offense is a good defense. Thor doesn't need to knock him out to win. He just has to be the last man standing."

Thor was watching M'Baku, carefully dodging him and throwing a punch only when he needed him to charge again. It didn't take long before M'Baku became very winded and Thor seized the moment. "There was one thing I neglected to mention before when we first met," he said smiling as lightning started to swirl from his closed hands. "I'm not just a king but I'm also the God of Thunder. You've fought very well but I think it's time we end this and then drink in celebration. You've been a worthy opponent but..." Thor rammed his fist into the ground and sent the electric force through, knocking M'Baku off his feet. Still smiling, Thor approached M'Baku and offered his hand to his fallen opponent to help him up. "I'll even get the first round of this country's finest ale."

M'Baku paused, trying to decide if he should accept Thor's offered hand or not, especially since it was the same hand that had knocked him on his ass. "Battle well fought," M'Baku commented as he grabbed Thor's hand to get up off the ground.

* * *

With Thor gone and thoroughly distracted, Shuri and Loki assisted the rest of the Asgardians to set up the celebration to Thor's coronation. As sunset approached, everything was set. All that was left was to get Thor there. Shuri had an idea and she departed back to the city to find Thor.

It didn't take long to find Thor. He was surrounded by Steve, Natasha, Bruce and surprisingly M'Baku.

"Shuri, come join us!" Thor called out to her once he saw her across the room. "We've had a most glorious day in battle and we're celebrating."

"I can see that," Shuri commented as she gently took the beer out of Thor's hand and set in on the bar. "I come bearing a message from your people. They wish to celebrate your victory the Asgardian way and they desire your presence."

Thor nodded and finished off the last of his beer. "If you'll all excuse me," he stated as he accompanied Shuri back to the speeder.

Shuri came to a stop just outside of the Asgardian settlement where a path of torches had been set up. She got out of the vehicle and walked over to where Loki was standing by the first torch.

Thor looked up the lit path to find what would eventually be his palace all lit up brightly. He had a feeling what was going on but he had to ask to make sure. He turned to Loki first. "Did you do this?" he asked hesitantly.

Loki smiled at his brother. "I didn't plan it. I just helped with it," he replied as he nodded to Shuri.

Thor looked towards Shuri, his eyes pleading with her for an explanation.

"A little girl came up to me as I made my processional," Shuri started as she took hold of Thor's hands. "She gave me a bouquet of flowers in honor of my coronation. I thanked her and spoke to her of your coronation." Shuri looked into Thor's eyes and started to see tears in them. "She told me you had no celebration but you needed one. She wanted to see her King honored since he helps his people every day. Your people wanted to honor you. Loki and I just arranged the party for them to do so." Shuri pulled him into a tight hug. "I shouldn't be the only one celebrated," she whispered to him.

Thor let out a shuddering breath as he smiled. "You didn't need to do this."

"Yes, we did," Loki responded. "Especially since I ruined your first one."

Thor turned to Loki and pulled him into a tight hug. "Thank you, brother."

"It was my pleasure," Loki replied back before stepping back from Thor. "But we do need to do something about...this," he commented as he gestured to Thor's less than regal attire.

Thor looked down at his clothes and smiled. "Well, I didn't exactly have time to clean out my chambers before Asgard burned. What do you wish me to do?"

Loki smiled. "I can fix that." He flicked his wrist at his brother and Thor was instantly dressed in his regal armor. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to complete preparations inside. Your people await, my King. Remember, wisdom and fortitude are sometimes a path walked alone but met at the end by friends." Loki offered his arm to Shuri. "May I have the pleasure of escorting you, your Majesty?"

Shuri took Loki's offered arm. "With pleasure. Thank you."

Once Shuri had Loki's arm, he vanished as well as all the lights on the torches. All Thor was left with was a tiny ball of light in his hand which was meant to light his way.


	8. Chapter 8

After Loki vanished, Thor was left alone in the dark with only a tiny ball of light left in his hand. The light was barely bigger than a candle on its own and rather useless as illumination in the dark forest. Pulling the lightning from within him, Thor supercharged the ball of light and made it swell to about the size of his hand. As the lightning swirled around the ball, Thor touched it to the first torch. The torch ignited as the light traveled along the current from one torch to another until it reached all the way up the hill.

As the blue current illuminated the torches, Thor could see tags on every few torches. The tags were written in both Old Norse runes and Wakandan – a little bit of Loki and a little bit of Shuri. He approached the first tag and read the name on it – FRIGGA.

"I'm sorry I wasn't faster, Mother," Thor whispered. "I can only hope I am as lucky as Father one day to have someone as wonderful as you by my side. I know I may have not always listened as well as I should have when you tried to impart your wisdom on me but I do remember it and I only wish to make you proud of me." Thor removed the tag from the torch, tucked it into his belt and moved forward to the next one – ODIN.

"You said that I am stronger than you and I'm not always sure I believe that," Thor stated. "You were right to not crown me at my first coronation. I wasn't ready. I hope that I am now. I wish you hadn't kept so many secrets. It would have been nice to have found out some of the things I found out from your own mouth rather than hear it from others. It also would have been nice to have known Hela as a sister and not just an opponent."

The next set had four torches together. SIF, VOLSTAGG, FANDRAL and HOGUN, the Warriors Three. "There's no four better friends that I would rather go into battle with," Thor said with a smile as he took each tag. "I hope I can pull you from the delights of Valhalla when I need your strength with me again. You are my brothers just as much as Loki is. I will never forget you and I hope to see you again one day." Thor paused a bit longer at Sif's torch. "We will find you...wherever you are. We will find a way to bring you home."

The next one was particularly hard. HEIMDALL. "You were always my eyes, even when I was not wise enough to see it myself. You honored me with your friendship and protected our people when I could not. I hope that you will still help me to see what is not so easily seen. No one will ever be able to replace you."

Thor came upon the last torch with a tag – ASGARD. "I failed you when you needed me the most. I couldn't stop Hela without destruction and so many were lost. Lost to Hela. Lost to Thanos. People looked to me as a hero and I didn't come through. Heimdall and Odin both said that Asgard wasn't a place, it was a people. But to those people, Asgard was home and now it is a home that has been lost. We will rebuild but it will never be the same."

Thor walked up the hill to the lights from the unfinished palace in the distance and he remembered the first time he was supposed to be crowned. Before his entrance, he was joking around with Loki and then walked in like an arrogant ass, hamming it up for the crowd. This time was different. All of Asgard was still there, just smaller. They were still cheering for him but not for his antics but because he earned it. His father always spoke of being worthy of the throne and this time Thor actually felt that he was.

Thor paused in the shadows before taking his entrance. All of his people were there. Loki, in full armor and horned helmet, stood at the front with a spear in his hand that looked very similar to Gungnir. To Loki's right stood Korg with Miek and Valkyrie. On his left stood Shuri, Steve, Natasha, Bruce and Rocket. The family and friends may be a bit different but the feeling is not.

Thor stepped into what would become his great hall to an eruption of cheers as he walked past. There was no showboating this time. He just kept his eyes on the front where Loki stood. As he approached, Loki had full command of the room. Just as if it were Odin again, the room fell silent when the spear was pounded on the floor.

"Good people of Asgard," Loki called out as Thor knelt down. "I present to you Thor, first born son of Odin, and your undoubted King." Cheers erupted once more. "Thor, do you swear to protect Asgard and her people? To protect the peace and prosperity set down by those who came before us? To cast aside all selfish ambition and to pledge yourself only for the good of Asgard? What say you to these oaths?"

"I swear by the All-Fathers to keep Asgard in honor. This is my vow and one I will not break until I enter the halls of Valhalla," Thor repeated.

Loki extended his hand to his brother to pull him up beside him. Once Thor was standing next to him, Loki handed the spear to Thor, removed his helmet and knelt before his brother. "Let me be the first among us to swear loyalty to our King," he called out as he took Thor's hand and set his blades down at his brother's feet. "I, Loki Odinson, Crown Prince of Asgard, do pledge my never ending fidelity to our King, Thor of Asgard."

Thor smiled down at Loki before pulling him up into a strong hug. "Never forget...we are brothers before we are kings. Family comes first."

"Always brother," Loki replied. "Might I be granted permission to present gifts to your Majesty on this great day?"

Thor had to fight back laughter at the excessive formality that his brother was throwing at him. "Granted."

"My gift is the emblem of your investiture," Loki explained as he gestured to the spear in Thor's hand. "I was not able to salvage Gungnir when I went back for Surtur's skull but I was able to describe it well enough for the craftsmen of Wakanda to recreate it for you. This does not bear the burden of Odin's war torn past. This one is entirely yours."

Thor now took notice how the spear felt different in his hand but similar. He nodded his thanks towards Shuri as well. "I thank you again, brother. You have done too much."

"I have much to make up for," Loki laughed.

* * *

After all the formalities of the ceremonies, it was time for the true celebrating to begin. The tables were filled with people feasting and drinking and laughing and dancing. There was no pain to be felt on this night. Thor sat at the head of one of the tables with Shuri, the Avengers and Rocket to his right and Loki, Valkyrie and Korg to his left.

"I think your celebration might have outdone mine," Shuri laughed in between bites as she gave Thor a hug.

"It was not my intention," Thor laughed. "Then again, I had no hand in planning this so I guess you and Loki outdid yourselves."

"Never say I can't plan a party," Loki interjected. "And there have been no snakes in wine glasses yet," he added with a smirk as he sipped at his glass.

"Don't do it," Thor warned playfully. "It's a waste of good wine and there would be a great deal of screaming."

"I still can't wrap my head around the fact that you're a king," Steve added.

"I am no different now than when you first met me except for a change of title," Thor replied. "You should know very well though that there is more to a person than just a title. There is far more to Steve Rogers than just Captain America."

Steve raised his glass to Thor. "I can't argue that point at all."

"Speaking of the more than Captain America," Thor continued. "I should like to commission your artistic skills to help decorate these palace walls. It is tradition to adorn the walls with murals of great moments of history and we have a new history to record."

"Thor, it would be my honor," Steve agreed.

* * *

It was very late when all the celebrating finally broke up and everyone returned to their homes. Upon returning to Wakanda's capital city, Thor gave into the exhaustion that he had been running on over the last few days and went to bed as soon as he and Loki returned to their rooms. Loki on the other hand needed more time to wind down and quiet his mind before retiring.

It was past three in the morning when Loki found himself dozing off in the chair he had chosen to read in. His usual grace was somewhat lacking as he stumbled from the chair to the bedroom he currently shared with his brother in the dark. As he got closer to the door and saw a white-blue light emanating from behind the door, Loki's senses went on high alert and withdrew one of his daggers as he approached the door. He opened the door cautiously as the light flooded the hallway. "Oh shit!" he exclaimed as he opened the door wide enough to see what was fully going on.

Lightning was bouncing off the vibrainium walls in the room in all directions. In the center of the room, close to the ceiling, there was Thor – still asleep – and encased in a ball of his own lightning and evidently caught in the throes of a horrid nightmare.

Loki tried screaming his brother's name to wake him up but it was useless. He knew well enough that Thor could sleep through nearly anything. It was then he had another idea. Loki flipped the blade over in his hand so the hilt was facing up. In between dodging lighting bolts emanating from his brother, Loki aimed and tried to hit Thor with the dagger, hopefully without injury. It took three attempts before Loki made contact. It would have been easier to sink the blade into his leg with a direct shot but that would have just pissed his brother off. On the third attempt, Loki managed to make contact with the side of Thor's head.

The hit to the head was enough to jolt Thor awake but it also had another result. The startling caused Thor to stop floating and come crashing to the floor hard. The lightning stopped as he hit the floor flat on his back. Thor didn't move for a moment before trying to roll on his side with a groan of pain.

Loki rushed to his brother's side, trying to help him into a sitting position with little success. "Brother, tell me what hurts and I can try to help.

"My head and my back," Thor groaned as he gave up on sitting and remained laying on his side on the floor. "What hell just happened?"

"You were encased in lightning nearly nine feet above the floor," Loki responded as he tried to dull the pain in his brother's back. "What did you dream about?"

Thor rubbed his eyes as he tried to focus. "I saw where Thanos brought the gauntlet with the Infinity Stones."

"Is this real or just something you made up?" Loki inquired.

"It's as real as Ragnarok was," Thor responded. "There was a door that led to where ever that bastard was." Thor paused for a moment as a wave of pain went through him. "You could find it."

"Do you realize what you are asking me to do?" Loki replied. "Finding a portal is hard enough when I have a starting point. You're asking me to find it's magical signature from only your dream and to track it from there. We don't even know what planet it may be on."

"I know what I am asking and I believe you can do it," Thor stated as he pushed himself to sit up again. "It's our only shot."

Loki saw the determination in his brother's eyes and he knew there was no arguing with him. Loki sighed. He didn't want to subject Thor to this. "Fine, if you want me to do this, I need to warn you of a few things," Loki cautioned. "First, I will try to be as gentle as possible but I am going to have to delve deep into your memory in that dream. To get the magical signature from something that may or may not exist will not be easy."

Thor nodded. "I understand. I'm trusting you right now."

Loki swallowed hard. This was no time to screw around. "There may be some side effects to what I'm going to do."

"Such as?"

"They can be but not necessarily limited to headaches, nausea, vomiting, and dizziness just to name a few," Loki explained. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

Thor leaned back against his bed and nodded. "It's our only shot. Go for it."

"Just don't electrocute me while I do this," Loki cautioned.

"I'll do my best but I offer no guarantees," Thor replied with a smile before closing his eyes.

Loki exhaled the breath he had been holding. He closed his eyes and pressed his right hand against Thor's forehead and concentrated on drawing up the memory of the dream.

Everything went black and then the images started to appear.

 _Thor's bedroom back on Asgard. Thor is asleep with Sif in his arms. She sleeps soundly on his chest while the sheets are tangled around them. The room started as only lit by moonlight but it soon changes. The glow from the fires of Asgard burning are lighting up the night sky in the window. The smell of fire and ash permeate the air and cause it to be hard to breathe. The light awakens Thor and Sif and with barely a moment to realize what is occurring, Sif vanishes from Thor's arms without a trace. Thor stumbles out of bed, trying to look for her. The panic and fear in his voice is heartbreaking to hear. He tries to summon Mjolnir but it does not come. It was such a habit for Thor to summon his hammer in a situation of distress. Thor hears a voice call his name. He leaves the room to hunt for Sif and the voice in nothing but sleep pants – no armor or weapon._

 _Thor walks into a hallway choked by smoke. He coughs as he tries to breathe still moving forward to the sound of his name again._

 _"You are surrounded by doors. You must only look in the right one to find what you seek. You must hurry for he grows stronger the longer you wait."_

 _Lightning starts to swirl around Thor's hands as Heimdall's ghost appears before him. His eyes white with death and his chest all bloodied from where he was stabbed._

 _"How will I find the right door?" Thor asks the ghost of his friend. "I need you to show me the way."_

 _"You must envision what you seek deep within your mind's eye. Only then will the path be revealed."_

 _Heimdall's ghost vanishes and Thor is then in a long dark hallway that is no longer part of Asgard. A blue flash zips by him – the Tesseract. Then a red light catches his eye – the Aether. Then a Purple flash – the Orb – followed by yellow – the mind stone. A green glow illuminates the doorway. It is a door made of black stones that have glowing blue streaks running through them. Orange runes light up on the door, the symbols for each of the stones - space, reality, power, soul, time and mind. Thor touches each one in the order they light up - the order which Thanos claimed them – and a doorway opens to lush green mountains with a small shack on the ledge of one of them with Thanos' armor strung up like a scarecrow and the wrecked gauntlet laying on the floor. Thor reaches for the gauntlet._

Loki pulls back from Thor's mind and opens his eyes back in their bedroom. As Loki processes what he just saw, he can see Thor sitting in front of him not handling the after effects very well. Thor is visibly shaking from a mixture of pain and chill from sitting in a freezing room in only a pair of sleep pants. He's taking shallow, rapid breaths and swallowing deeply, attempting to try to regain some control.

Loki leans forward and pulls Thor into an embrace, allowing his brother's forehead to rest against his own. He was worried that Thor wasn't recovering as quickly as he would have liked. "Brother, are you alright?"

Thor swallowed hard a few more times before shaking his head. "No," he croaks out before he tries to get to his feet. Thor stumbles as he tries to stand and ends up half crawling into the bathroom where he begins to retch violently.

Loki cringes with sympathy as he can't help but hear Thor vomiting over and over again.

"Please tell me you got what you needed," Thor pants out in between the bouts of rebellion of his stomach. "Because if I am going through all this shit for nothing you will pay for this."

"I got it," Loki said softly as he entered the bathroom. "I just hope that it is on this planet or else it will be lost."

"What do you need to find it?" Thor asked as his stomach seemed to stop warring against him.

Loki knelt down to help his brother sit up from resting his head on the toilet and helped him sip some water slowly. "I need a wide open space with none of this metal around where I can spread out my magic. I have to feel the magic signature," he replied as he offered his hand to help Thor up from the floor.

Thor gratefully took his brother's hand to help him stand. Between throwing up and his back and head now throbbing with pain, he wanted nothing more than to sleep it off. "I'm sure Shuri can point out a good spot," he stated as he gingerly sat down on his bed and groaned in pain as he tried to lay back down.

"Will you allow me to lessen your pain?" Loki asked after witnessing his brother's agony. "It is mostly my fault. Please, allow me to fix this." He hoped his brother would not be stubborn this time as he usually was.

"I only wish to sleep, Loki," Thor almost whined which showed how bad the pain really was. "If you can make that possible, please do so."

Loki took that as an affirmation. "Try to relax," he instructed as he shifted his brother's blanket. Allowing healing magic to flow through him, Loki was careful not to aggravate the injuries his brother had already suffered that night. It was easier to numb the pain sensors while Thor's own healing ability took over rather than heal them out right. Without the waves of pain coursing through him, Thor soon fell back to sleep.

After readjusting Thor's blanket, Loki took to his own bed to try to sleep for a few hours before sunrise.

* * *

Having slept very little after the previous night's events, Loki ventured out to the dining hall shortly after sunrise after a somewhat incoherent answer from his brother saying he didn't need any help. As he was sipping his morning tea and nibbling on some fruit, Loki glanced up to see Shuri entering and she was being followed by the Avengers and the raccoon that Thor had befriended. Shuri was pleasant company but Thor's earthly companions still were unsettled with his presence. He took a few calming breaths to try to be polite for Thor's sake. "Good morning," he offered before returning to the book he was reading.

"Good morning, Loki," Shuri greeted warmly as she took a seat. "Where's Thor?"

"Recovering," Loki offered, trying not to divulge more than was necessary.

"Is he hung over?" Steve asked. "I didn't think he had that much last night."

"That's not exactly what is wrong," Loki said cautiously.

"What happened?" Natasha asked with a tone that was more accusatory than pleasant.

"He fell out of bed."

Bruce looked up questioningly. "What did you do to him?"

With one phrase, Loki felt the eyes of Captain America, Black Widow and the Hulk all boring holes into his skull. "I did nothing to him." Loki paused and lowered the volume of his voice. "That he did not specifically request or consent to."

The next few seconds were a blur but soon Loki found himself pinned to the wall with an angry Steve Rogers staring him down. "Speak plainly and quickly. What did you do to Thor?"

"I did nothing that he did not ask for," Loki repeated again. "Given my brother's recent elevation of position, it is wiser not to piss him off considering he holds considerable right and authority to determine what happens to the rest of my existence. If the occasion arises where I push my brother too far, he could easily send me to a dungeon for the rest of my days or worse."

"Worse?" Natasha prompted him to continue.

Loki swallowed hard. "He could take that rather large ax that he has just procured and sever my head from the rest of my body should he see fit."

"Why don't we let Loki explain further what he means before anyone gets hurt?" Shuri stepped in, trying to calm down an increasingly hostile situation.

"My gratitude, my Lady," Loki stated gratefully as Steve backed off.

"So, where is Thor?" Shuri asked calmly.

"As I said...recovering," Loki repeated.

"Recovering from what?" Natasha pushed as calmly as she could.

"He fell out of bed."

"How did he fall out of bed?" Bruce inquired.

"He had a nightmare."

"What would he need to recover from?" Steve asked.

"Thor asked me to help him recall and interpret the dream to find some vital information," Loki started, making sure he didn't reveal too much. "Unfortunately, the process of recalling the memory is not a pleasant one and one can suffer some side effects which I warned him about."

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking that Loki was trying to be difficult. "What are the side effects?"

"Headache, nausea, vomiting to name a few," Loki stated. "Unfortunately, Thor got all three."

"Please, don't tell me that you JUST LEFT HIM after all of that!" Shuri interjected.

Loki actually looked shocked at that statement. "I did nothing of the sort!" he countered. "Once he stopped the excessive vomiting, I helped him clean up and tucked him back into bed. Before I left this morning, I asked if he wished me to stay and he declined. He wished to rest and I honored his request. Besides, my King has set me to task which I will see to completion if you could provide me with some assistance Lady Shuri."

"What do you need?"

"I need a wide open space with no buildings or settlement preferably not too far away," Loki replied.

"I know a place you can go," Shuri responded as she sent for Okoye. "Okoye will be able to take you there when you are ready."

Loki nodded his head in gratitude. "My thanks, your Majesty. Now, if you will all excuse me."

As Loki exited, Shuri got up to leave as well.

"What's the rush?" Rocket asked in between bites.

"I'm going to check on Thor to make sure Loki didn't leave him on the bathroom floor," Shuri stated before heading down the hallway.

* * *

Shuri knocked softly before entering. "Thor? Are you okay?" she called out as she walked back towards the bedroom.

Thor was lightly dozing in the sunlight that was coming in the window. He had shoved the pillows around so he didn't need to lay on his sore back and had pulled his blanket up nearly to his ears. He groaned as he turned his head to see Shuri but soon he smiled at seeing her. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to make sure Loki was telling the truth," Shuri said as she crossed the room and sat down on the edge of Thor's bed. "He got me worried."

"What did he say?" Thor asked sleepily.

"The first thing he said was that you fell out of bed."

"That's one way of putting it," Thor responded. "I fell about nine feet out of bed."

"Nine feet?" Shuri cried out. "Are you okay?"

"I will be."

"You will be? Let me see," Shuri insisted.

"I just got comfortable to where it didn't hurt as much," Thor nearly whined as he rolled over on his other side.

"You shush and let me see," Shuri instructed as she peeled back his blankets to reveal his bruised back.

As the blanket moved, Thor hissed before he started shivering.

"I'm sorry. Did that hurt that much?" Shuri apologized as she gently touched the bruises.

"No, Loki dulled most of the pain," Thor responded. "It's cold."

Shuri couldn't help but laugh a little as she moved his blanket back. "I would imagine it would be after being buried under this very beautiful and heavy blanket."

Thor rolled back over to face Shuri as he buried himself again under a very thick red quilt with silver and black embroidery. "It was a gift from Stark and his Lady Pepper for winter solstice one year. He sent it with some of my others things after he returned to New York."

Shuri stroked Thor's hair gently as she watched him get comfortable again. "Is there a story behind this?"

Thor closed his eyes again and sighed. "Asgard has a fairly temperate climate and doesn't get very cold. New York in winter on the other hand is more like Jotunheim."

"That's where your brother is from, correct?" Shuri recalled.

Thor nodded. "Lady Pepper noticed that I was always freezing when I was here during the winter so they had this made for me."

Shuri went back to running her fingers through Thor's hair again as she noticed him starting to drift off to sleep again. "That was very sweet of them," she whispered. "Just sleep now. I'll watch over you."

* * *

Hours had passed without Shuri even noticing as she sat with Thor's head nearly in her lap as he slept. It wasn't until Loki showed up in the afternoon that she had realized how long she had been there.

"Well, I'll be damned. It still works," Loki said with a smirk.

"What are you talking about?" Shuri whispered.

Loki laughed. "He doesn't snore when he has a woman in bed with him."

"I wouldn't call this is bed with him," Shuri protested. "And how would you know that?"

Loki shot her a questioning look as she sat on Thor's bed. "Our chambers were next to each other. It wasn't hard to figure out." Loki grabbed a book from his bedside as he turned to leave. "Tell him when he awakes that I have had some success. He'll know what it means."

"I will," Shuri quietly agreed.

"Take care of him. He needs it," Loki responded before he ducked out of the door again.

* * *

By the time Thor had stirred again, the sun had set. He awoke slowly and realized that Shuri was still there. "You didn't have to stay. You probably had more important things to do ."

Shuri smiled. "Nope. Schedule was all clear. How are you feeling?"

"Better. Less sore and hungry," Thor admitted.

"I would imagine you would be," Shuri told him as she got up. "How about this? You can get cleaned up and I will arrange some dinner for us. How does that sound?"

"It sounds perfect," Thor responded as he slowly pushed himself up from his bed. "And one more thing. Can you tell my friends I need to speak with them? The Avengers have another mission."


	9. Chapter 9

When the Avengers found Thor, it was almost as if they were walking on a scene back when they all shared Tony's tower. There was Thor, in a hoodie and pajama pants, seated at a table tucking into a veritable feast of food in front of him. Some things don't change.

"Think you got enough there?" Natasha asked first with a smile as they approached. "Looks like a continuation of your coronation celebration."

"Shuri arranged for dinner for us when we hadn't eaten all day. The chefs were far beyond generous in their preparation. Please, sit and join us," Thor offered.

"How are you feeling? Loki said you fell out of bed earlier," Bruce inquired after sitting down.

"I am doing much better now but I wouldn't classify what happened as just falling out of bed," Thor replied in between bites.

"What actually happened?" Steve asked. "You know we can only believe so much of what your brother says."

"Even I question him sometimes," Thor laughed. "I had a dream...a nightmare...a vision and I ended up floating in the middle of the room and falling some nine feet to the floor when I woke up."

"So why would Loki alter what happened? It didn't benefit him in anyway," Natasha asked.

"Probably to protect me," Thor countered. "He will actually do that on occasion."

"And where is your illusive brother at this moment? He said he was set to a task by you," Bruce asked.

"He spoke the truth," Thor answered. "I did send him on a task that he is uniquely qualified for. He's the only one that I know of that can find hidden portals. He found some and created some that even Heimdall couldn't see."

Shuri had walked back into the room just as Thor mentioned Loki's search for a portal. "Why would you need a portal to somewhere?"

Thor didn't respond immediately. He had to think of the right way to say this that didn't sound completely crazy. "To get the Infinity Stones back," he said quietly.

"Are you completely bat shit crazy?" Rocket spat out. "You want to go up against Thanos for a THIRD time?"

"I never said anything about that bastard," Thor countered as he leaned back in his chair. "My vision showed a way of getting the stones back in more of a snatch and grab than duel to the death."

"Let's step back for a second," Steve interjected. "Even though this does sound totally and completely insane. Let's say we take on this mission and we succeed, who wields the gauntlet? We just can't let that thing go."

"Thor could possibly handle it," Bruce interjected. "He powered through all six stones when he threw his ax into Thanos."

"No," Thor said quickly as he stepped away from the table. "I will not do it."

"Bruce does have a point. Who else among us could?" Natasha added.

Thor shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. "It's not a matter of ability to wield the stones. I choose not to do it. All six stones together are far too dangerous for any one person to have." Thor walked over to the window as he continued to speak. "My father tried to obtain all the Infinity Stones. He even had a gauntlet to control them. His was the right hand and Thanos had the left."

"In the earlier years of his reign, my father asserted his power over the Nine Realms through constant war and bloodshed. He and my sister, Hela, ravaged entire civilizations in the pursuit of Asgard's empire. It was also during this time that he sought the Stones. He managed to gain five of them. It was only when he was faced with the impossible choice at the sixth did he decide that war and destruction were not the best path to follow."

"What stone did he not get?" Shuri asked. "What was the impossible choice?"

"My father never obtained the Soul Stone," Thor answered without taking his gaze from the window, almost as if trying to seek strength to continue. "To obtain the Soul Stone, one must sacrifice what he or she loves most. You must pay part of your soul to get the stone. My father would not sacrifice his wife or his children to get that stone. It was then that he was forced to take a look inside himself at what he had done and it was at that moment that he decided to become a benevolent king. He helped to re-hide the stones across the realms to protect them. My sister did not agree with this and he imprisoned her."

"Why haven't you told us this before?" Natasha asked.

Thor's head bowed slightly. "Because I didn't know of it," he whispered. "I only discovered it when my father died and my sister returned and set a path of destruction on Asgard."

"You have very valid points," Steve stated calmly. "But my original question stands. What do we do with the stones once we have them?"

"We protect them," Thor stated simply as he crossed the room back to stand beside Shuri. "The stones need guardians. My brother and I have had direct experience with four of the stones but I am not comfortable with having more than one in a place at at time."

Shuri took one of Thor's hands in hers, trying to provide him some comfort in after what was obviously hard to talk about. "You seem to be our expert here. Please, tell us how we should proceed."

Before Thor could open his mouth, a loud crash was heard from the hallway. Thor, Steve, and Natasha instantly got ready to fight if necessary. Rocket was looking for anything he could use as a weapon. Thor pushed Shuri behind him as lightning started forming around his hands. As the Avengers moved towards the door of the dining hall, four Dora Milaje entered carrying a battered and exhausted Loki between them. Thor saw his brother and immediately stepped forward to relieve Shuri's guards. Thor Took Loki's arm and draped it over his shoulder so he could help him to sit down.

"I'm not doing 'Get Help,'" Loki said weakly as his lolled side to side.

"No, but you certainly need it this time, you dumb fool," Thor scolded gently as he helped his brother to a chair. "You didn't pay any attention that you were completely exhausting yourself, did you?"

"You're not the only one who has a score to settle with that purple bastard," Loki countered.

Thor made a plate for his brother and set it before him. "And I need you fighting by my side not dead at my feet. Eat and then you are going to bed to recover."

"I am not a child, brother," Loki scowled. "I would think you would be more appreciative of my efforts since I found the portal signature."

Thor paused. "And where is it?"

"It's close by," Loki said in between bites. "But I can't get a clear lock on it. It's like there is an electromagnetic field around it."

"You mean all that shit you were going on about is legit?" Rocket asked. "This may be better than Nidavellir."

"You took that to Nidavellir?"Loki questioned with almost disgust.

"I am not a THAT!" Rocket spat back angrily.

"Yes, I did and if I hadn't I would not be here right now so be nice," Thor warned his brother in Rocket's defense as he put a hand on the raccoon's should to calm him.

"Let's go back to the task at hand," Shuri interrupted. "Who acts as Guardians for the stones if we get them back?"

Loki's ears perked up and he smiled at Shuri's suggestion. "That is a fine idea, my Lady," he agreed. "Then I will know exactly where they all are."

"You are not getting your hands on them again," Thor interjected. "Because the last time when you had two of them, we had to fight the entire Chitauri army over New York."

"Now, you know I wasn't entirely in control there," Loki protested. "You know very well that I was under control of the Mind stone just as I inflicted it on others."

"You should be glad Clint isn't here right now," Natasha warned Loki. "He's still pissed about that."

Loki scowled but shut his mouth. He remembered quite well what had happened last time and had no desire to repeat it.

With Loki calming down, Thor was able to relax as well and he took his seat again. "Brother, might I ask you to provide an illusion of the stones?"

"As you wish," Loki nodded as the six Infinity Stones suddenly appeared in front of them.

"The Time Stone is one of the easier ones," Thor started as he called the green stone to him with Loki's help. "Strange had a second with him in the New York Sanctum and if Wong survived, the Time Stone rightfully belongs with him." The green stone suddenly vanished and Thor pulled the yellow. "Second, without Vision or Wanda, the Mind Stone needs to be guarded by someone who knows it's inner workings. Bruce and Tony both used it to create Vision."

"But Shuri is the one who delved deeper than Tony or I did when we were trying to extract it from Vision," Bruce interjected. "She may be the better choice."

Thor looked over at Shuri and smiled as he sent the yellow light her way. "I think you may be entirely right, Banner."

"Nothing will happen to it here. I assure you of that," Shuri replied.

"Next, the Tesseract," Thor continued before shooting a warning look over to his brother before summoning the blue stone. "Steven, I was once told that you protected the stone during this planet's second Great War and kept it from entering enemy hands. You even went as far to sacrifice yourself to keep it safe."

"That's how I ended up in the ice for seventy years," Steve added.

"Would you be willing to do it again? This time, with Natasha and Clint by your side to assist."

"If it was anyone else asking, I'd probably say no. But since it's you, I would be honored to guard it again."

Three stones were left and possibly the most dangerous to possess – the Aether, the Soul Stone and the Power Stone.

Thor pulled the Aether to him and let the red gem float in his hand. "This one is dangerous. It is fluid when not in this state and has been known to invade a host when given the opportunity. Jane suffered greatly because of this stone." Thor paused and swallowed hard as a bad memory returned. "And our mother died protecting her and the stone inside of her."

Loki and Thor looked across the table at each other and both shared the painful memory of what happened when Frigga died at the hands of Malekith.

"I'll do it," Rocket interrupted.

Thor looked over at him with a mixture of surprise and a bit of relief. "Rabbit, you know what I am asking of you? I have described what that stone can do. You know that Asgard sent that stone to Knowhere and your friends unfortunately probably felt some of its effects when Thanos got it."

"Thanos killed my friends," Rocket ground out. "I will keep that stone safe and one day Thanos will pay for what he did. He took my whole family."

"I knew there was a reason why I liked you, Rabbit," Thor said with a smile as the red light vanished in front of Rocket. "Trust me, if you want help with him, I will be right there."

Two stones remained. Loki summoned the Power Stone to him. "No mortal has ever wielded this and lived."

"Quill did," Rocket interjected.

Both Thor and Loki were instantly interested as well as the others.

"How is that possible?" Loki questioned.

"Rabbit, please tell the tale of how this happened," Thor urged.

"On Xandar, we were trying to get the stone away from Ronan," Rocket started. "When the stone came loose, Peter grabbed it in his bare hand. It didn't immediately obliterate him like it did to the Collector's assistant. It was chewing him up alright but he was actually controlling it. Eventually, the rest of us joined him and it went through all of us and it hurt like no hell you can describe. After Ronan was toast, we put it back in the orb and gave it to the Nova Corps."

"That has never been done before," Loki commented. "How can someone from Midgard actually possess the strength to contain it?"

"Well...Quill wasn't all Terran," Rocket replied. "He was a bit of a mutt."

"What was his parentage, Rabbit?" Thor asked.

"His mom was from Earth. His dad was...Ego."

"His father was Ego!" Loki almost roared with laughter.

"Being part Celestial would explain why he could withstand the Power Stone," Thor added in.

"But Ego? That man...planet...whatever he was...was up more skirts in the galaxy than Fandral. I'm surprised one of his thousands of progeny managed to survive," Loki replied.

"But Quill is gone now, "Rocket said sadly. "Who would take it now?"

"Stark," Thor said quietly.

"Touching the stone would kill him," Loki interjected.

Thor shook his head. "He can make something to contain it."

"But why Tony?" Bruce asked.

"Tony makes sense," Natasha replied. "He was a man that freely wielded the power of death and destruction with his weapons until he saw first hand what they did. He gave up being a weapons manufacturer without a second thought. Now, he uses his technology to protect and better the world instead of destroy it."

"If he sees that as a weapon, there is no way that Tony would ever let anyone near it," Steve agreed.

"And the Soul Stone..."

"Should be you, brother," Loki interrupted.

Thor turned to his brother quickly, his eyes begging for an explanation.

"Even though you did not directly intend to make the impossible sacrifice to gain the stone. You did it to save our people."

Thor's eyes were starting to fill with tears as Loki brought this up again.

"You sacrificed part of yourself when you decided to let Surtur loose on Asgard. Asgard fell but our people lived."

"I failed at that though," Thor said quietly as he bowed his head to hide the tears.

Loki shook his head. "Damn it," he swore softly. He got up from the chair and crossed over to Thor, kneeling down so his forehead touched his brother's as his right hand gently wrapped around the back of his neck. "This was not your fault," Loki said softly. "You may have made the decision to let Surtur loose on Asgard to stop Hela but I'm the one who put the crown in the Eternal Flame. Our choice was made for us. We just couldn't give Asgard to Hela. She would have slaughtered everyone. We gave up our home so our people may live. Our powers come from Asgard – the people of Asgard – not some tarnished golden city. Brother, I guarantee that if we ask any of our people by that lake out there who they would prefer as their monarch, they would pick you over her ten times over."

Thor sniffed as his left hand came up on Loki's neck and returned the brotherly embrace. "Thank you. I needed that," he whispered with a smile. "Who would they pick between you and me?"

Loki smiled. "Well..." he started with a smirk. "They'd probably still pick you."

"Well...they'd have to choose both of us," Thor laughed. "For there is no Thor without Loki." As Loki sat back down, Thor turned to the other. "So who's going with us?"

"Us?" Loki quickly interjected.

"How else would we get back?" Thou countered.

"Good point."

"If it means making that purple bastard pay dearly, I'm in," Rocket spoke up first.

Thor looked to Steve and Natasha.

"We lost a fight. We're not losing the war. We aren't at the end of the line yet," Steve stated. "I'll be right with you."

"Who's better than me at getting hard to acquire things?" Natasha asked with a smile. Loki raised his hand with a smile.

"Somehow, I think the Other Guy should stay out of this," Bruce stated. "I can stay here and help Shuri as needed."

"We have work to do if we are to go to battle again," Shuri added. "I can give you the best technology possible to help."

"Don't say that around Tony. He may get jealous," Bruce laughed.


	10. Chapter 10

The morning started hard and fast for Shuri. It started with a council meeting and then solving a dispute between the Merchant and Border tribes all while she was working on the upgrades for the Avengers to integrate vibrainium into their armor before they went up against Thanos again to get the stones back. She was thoroughly engrossed in her tablet as she made her way to the dining hall. Her attention was so focused that she almost didn't notice Thor sitting there.

"Something must really have your attention to almost make you trip over a chair," he said with a smile as he stood up and moved a chair out for her before returning to his own breakfast.

"Yes...I'm sorry. I'm trying to integrate the same vibrainium protections I made for my brother into the armor that Stark had made for your friends and you if you'll let me," she explained apologetically.

"Don't worry about me or Loki," Thor said in between spoonfuls of his cereal. "We still have access to our armor which was made on Asgard. Protect my friends."

Shuri looked up from her tablet and surveyed what was before her. Thor sat on one side of the table with a bowl of cereal and probably the biggest coffee Shuri had ever seen as he read from a pile of papers. Opposite him was an abandoned tea cup and small plate. Only one person she could think of would have been there so early. "Where did your brother run off to? He seems like the type who doesn't leave things around," she asked, pointing to the tea cup.

"He wanted to try to solidify the location of the portal and I told him I would put it away for him," Thor remarked absently as he looked over the papers to his left.

"It seems a shame that he had to go so quickly," Shuri stated when she noticed the cup still had liquid in it.

"Once he wasn't so exhausted, the visions became much clearer for him and he wanted to act on them," Thor explained. "He wrote down what he had seen to see if I could make any sense of them to try to help," he added as he slid the papers over to Shuri.

Shuri picked up the pile and noticed it was not written in either Wakandan or English. "I can't read this," she laughed as she was about to pull up a translator.

"Sorry, he wrote it in Old Norse," Thor explained as he pulled it back. "He says he can see the portal in a black cave that has blue veins illuminating it. That he saw from my dream. He then describes the entrance is near a large cat's head and a building that looks like my father's palace on Asgard."

"If I am understanding this correctly, your brother is describing Mount Bashenga," Shuri stated as she brought up a picture on her tablet. She turned it to show Thor the Black Panther carved into the mountain with blue light shining from beneath it. "It's where all the vibrainium is as well as my lab. Loki only saw my lab from the inside before he came to the palace. He never saw the rest."

"He has now and that is where the portal is according to him," Thor replied as he studied the picture.

"Do you know where he went to focus?" Shuri asked excitedly.

Thor nodded. "He's right outside the border of where our people are. His seidr would be the strongest there."

"Come on. That's where we're going," Shuri said with a huge grin as she grabbed Thor's hand.

* * *

Loki sat in the middle of the tall grasses by the lake, his eyes closed in a deep meditative state as he sent his magic out in all directions to pick up the signal from the portal. As he felt the slight signal from the portal, he focused all of his energy on picking up on the delicate tendrils. As he increased his intensity, he met the wall of electromagnetism again with extreme force. Frustrated and angry, Loki let out an infuriated scream and a foul stream of curses as his magic blasted from his in every direction.

"Easy brother. The last time I heard some of those expressions used I was with Volstagg in a tavern and they ran out of ale. I don't believe that he used them with quite such ferocity or fluidity as you just did though," Thor spoke up as the blast dissipated as he and Shuri dismounted the speeder. "I know well what you're capable of and a blast like that could kill someone."

"There's a damn reason why I came out here," Loki hissed as he closed his eyes against the headache blooming in his skull.

Thor extended his hand to his brother. "We figured out where it is from the clues you gave," Thor explained as he helped Loki up. "Shuri knows where it is. Come brother. We're heading there now."

As the speeder lifted off and started in the direction of Mount Bashenga, Loki opened up the tendrils of his magic again to get a feel for the portal but the electromagnetism was making his headache go into a full blown migraine. When they rose above the ridge of the mountain and the citadel came into view, Loki almost froze as if he were seeing a ghost.

"It reminds me of Asgard," he whispered to Thor as they landed and descended into Shuri's lab.

By the time the trio had reached Shuri's lab, Loki was nearly brought to his knees with pain and Thor was holding him up. He knew the door was close.

"Which direction is the panther's head?" Loki ground out.

Shuri took him and Thor to the window and pointed. "Straight ahead of us towards the west. The Panther looks towards the setting sun."

A green light erupted from Loki's hand towards the western wall but it quickly fizzled out as Loki lost his concentration when the pain became too much. "There are electromagnets down here, correct?" he ground out.

"Many of them," Shuri replied. "They are part of the systems used to stabilize and modify the vibrainium.

"Can they be turned off? I can barely see straight with this headache and I am about to throw up from it. I can't tag the portal if I can't focus."

"I can do it but it won't be for long," Shuri stated cautiously.

"How long do you need, brother?" Thor asked.

"I only need moments," Loki replied. "I'll tag the door and the runes should illuminate as in your vision. Then we can open it at our leisure."

Loki watched as Shuri readied herself to shut down the systems. As soon as the field went down, he threw the magic blast in the direction he felt the portal's signature. Just as it was in Thor's dream, a green glow lit up the frame of the door way and the runes flashed orange before quieting. "There it is," Loki stated, pointing to the glow twenty feet down on the wall.

Thor smiled as he saw the door glow and smacked his brother hard on the back in appreciation. "Now, we get ready to leave."

"You all need to gear up first and that's where I come in," Shuri interrupted. "Tell your friends to come here."

* * *

Hours later, the Avengers had taken over Shuri's lab in preparation. Some lunch had been set in a room off to the side while Shuri took detailed scans and measurements of each of them to recreate the armor she had made for her brother for each of them to wear under the Kevlar they already had. Rocket had gone off to a corner on his own to tinker with something he had discovered. Steve and Natasha were getting a feel for some of the weapons that Shuri had designed while Bruce was video chatting Tony.

"What the hell is going on over there?" Tony erupted as he could see around Bruce. "I'm gone for a few days and all this shit goes on. What the hell are you planning for? Why the hell wasn't I included? How the hell is Reindeer Games there and why is a raccoon building a bomb in the corner?!"

"I ain't no raccoon!" Rocket called back when he heard Tony.

"You think he's building a bomb?" Bruce questioned.

"Bruce, I love ya buddy but that was the dumbest thing you have ever said," Tony spat. "How many years of my life did I devote to weapons design and manufacturing? Trust me, I know a bomb when I see one."

"Rabbit?" Thor asked calmly, trying to diffuse the tension. "What are you building?"

Rocket smiled as he picked up another screwdriver. "A little present for that purple son of a bitch."

"What kind of present?" Thor pressed.

Rocket snickered. "The explosive kind."

"I told you so," Tony chimed in. "Point Break, is that purple son of a bitch he is referring to that bastard Thanos?"

Thor nodded. "I am sorry we did not contact you, Stark. This plan only came together in the last few days. We are going after the stones to keep them safe from Thanos."

"You had me at we're going against that asshole again," Tony replied. "You say when and I'm there."

"Perfect, more explosives," Loki groaned as he sharpened the blades of his daggers. "As if going through an interstellar portal wasn't hard enough."

"Stay out of it, Reindeer Games," Tony growled. "I thought he was dead."

Thor shot a look of warning to his brother to cool the attitude and then the look shifted to Tony. "We wouldn't be able to do any of this if it wasn't for Loki. He found the portal under rather difficult circumstances," he stated as evenly as he could as he came to his brother's defense. If he had lost his temper, he could easily short out most of the electronics in the room and Shuri would not be pleased with that. "Now, if you wish to join us, we leave the day after tomorrow from Wakanda."

"I'll be there," Tony agreed. "And I'll bring the frisbee for Steve." Tony was about to disconnect before he paused. "Hey Point Break, didn't you used to have two blue eyes? Anyway, I'll see you all in two days."

Shuri looked up from her computer and crossed over to Thor, taking his face in her hands to examine his artificial eye. She could see the slightly irritated edges around his eye and that told her so much. "That wasn't made for you, was it?"

Thor tried to hide his embarrassment at the close examination. "Rabbit gave it to me. He was correct that I could not go against Thanos with only one eye. I was lucky he had one after my sister eliminated mine."

Shuri gently ran her thumb around Thor's eye, examining it carefully. "It still hurts, doesn't it?"

"Sometimes," Thor admitted quietly.

"Let me fix this for you," Shuri said smiling. "I promise you, I can make it work and feel so much better for you."

Thor was about to reach up and take the eye out to hand it to Shuri but he hesitated. He had gotten used to having two eyes again and it felt odd to not have both.

Loki saw the hesitation in his brother. He knew Thor was a bit sensitive about the loss of his eye. "Not desiring to look like Odin again?"

Rocket sighed as he heard Loki's comment as he rummaged through his bag to find a pair of sunglasses that he usually used for welding. He tossed them to Thor. "Those should work for a bit. I did say you may have wanted to wash that eye first."

"Thank you, Rabbit," Thor said gratefully as he turned around and popped the eye out and put the sunglasses on to hide it. "Again, you come through when needed."

Shuri took the eye carefully. "Don't worry. I'll have this back to you in no time."

* * *

Once Tony arrived in Wakanda, Thor knew deep down something had to be done about the rift between Steve and Tony. He hated to do it but he had to treat them like hostile enemies coming in for negotiations rather than friends. He sent word to Shuri to have every one meet him in the Asgardian settlement. He needed the upper hand to get through to both of them.

It wasn't long before a speeder with Steve, Natasha, Bruce, Rocket, Shuri, Loki, Tony, Pepper and Rhodey approached the castle still under construction. Valkyrie and Korg met them at the gate and ushered them into the grand hall where a table was set up with long benches in clear view of the new throne of Asgard.

"Why are we meeting here?" Rocket whispered to Loki. "I mean wouldn't Wakanda City be better...more luxurious...finished?"

"Have you ever read anything on the arts of war?" Loki sighed and was not surprised when Rocket shook his head. "One thing my brother has been educated on most of his life is the art of war. Thor has a plan but for it to work, he needs the upper hand. Wakanda City is Shuri's domain but here Thor is King and that is not to be trifled with."

"But these are his friends, right? What does he plan on doing with them?" Rocket asked.

Loki pulled up a chair in the corner of the room and offered similar to Shuri and Rocket, out of the way. "Knocking some sense into them. Sit back and watch. This should get interesting."

The Avengers walked in and started to take seats at the table. Steve and Natasha at one end. Tony and Pepper at the other with Rhodey next to them and Bruce in the middle.

"Did Thor let on what he wanted to discuss?" Natasha whispered to Steve.

Steve shook his head. "Not at all. He just said to meet here. This is his call not mine. I'm just in the dark as you are."

"So where are we anyway?" Tony piped up. "This looks a bit different than the rest of Wakanda."

"Welcome to Asgard," Thor interjected as he walked into the room from behind the throne.

"Not exactly what I expected," Tony muttered. "So, you're saying that we get to meet Odin now?"

"Highly unlikely considering he's dead," Thor answered shortly.

The wheels in Tony's head quickly started turning as he was reading the clear anger on Thor's face. "Which that means you're now..."

"King of Asgard," Thor finished for him as he watched Tony cringe. "But my elevation is not the reason why I brought all of you here. We have an issue that needs to be solved before we undertake this mission or I won't bring either of you with me."

"Thor, this doesn't concern you," Tony started, trying to diffuse things. "This is an issue strictly between me and Steve."

"I told him, Tony," Bruce interjected. "Even I don't know all the details and this has to get cleared up. We can't have this wall between us."

Tony stood up and started pacing. "Steve chose his side and lied to me. I know I should move on from it but it's a little hard to considering what you lied about."

"Tony, I know I was wrong not to tell you about your parents. I accept that. If things had been discovered indifferent circumstances, the situation would have been handled so much differently," Steve pleaded.

"I don't know the whole story as to what happened because I wasn't there but I will not let us be torn apart by it any longer," Thor ground out as he motioned for Tony to sit down. "We are a team and teams have disputes. They fix them and become stronger instead of destroying each other. But we are not just some team, we are friends first and foremost and where I come from friends don't just give up on each other. We have all lost too much for this to continue so I do not care if this takes all night and I have to chaperone you two, you will come to some sort of accord. Are we clear?"

"I think I liked it better when Cap lead the team," Tony muttered under his breath.

"This isn't my team this time, Tony," Steve replied and received a look of shock on Tony's face at the fact that he heard him. "This is Thor's call and I'm willing to work if you are because I have no desire to have him pissed off at me."

"Considering I don't have my armor with me at the moment and Point Break packs a pretty mean swing with a jolt to boot I will consent to discussions because I do actually miss all of the Avengers," Tony conceded.

* * *

It had taken hours, some hard emotions and some food but eventually an understanding had been reached. It would take time to build back what was lost but there was a start. Everyone was exhausted and quickly retired for the evening in preparation for the portal jump in the morning.

After returning from the Avengers meeting, Shuri went to her lab to finalize the vibrainium cases for the stones but her focus was not there. Her mind kept going back to Thor and how he handled the dispute between his friends. He was as even tempered as she could imagined he would have been dealing with the two men in front of him. It probably took every bit of his self control not to want to throw both of them against a wall. Despite being in the room with him all day, she had not gotten a chance to spend any time alone with him. She knew this mission was important to him so once the cases were finished, she went his room to search him out.

Shuri knocked on the door politely and was a bit taken back when Loki answered the door is his pajamas. She had never seen him so disheveled. "Is Thor here?"

Loki rubbed his eyes tiredly. "He's not here," he sighed. Normally, he would have made her ask a significant number of questions to discover his brother's whereabouts but he was too tired at the moment. "He claimed he had a great deal of frustrated energy and he could not sleep. He probably went so some sort of training yard to expel such frustrations."

Shuri quickly thanked Loki and wished him good night before heading down the training center. As she got closer she heard rock music playing and could feel static building around her. Once rounding the corner, Shuri could clearly hear the heavy repetitive thud of the heavy punching bag being hit over and over again. She slipped into the training center unnoticed and stood along the wall just to watch. Thor's eyes were glowing and lightning swirled around him as he continued to beat on the punching bag bare handed. There was no smile just aggression that needed to get out before he hurt someone. As he hit it harder and harder, Shuri was glad everything was reinforced with vibrainium or else he would have destroyed it. Then there was a sudden bang that made the 200 pound bag jerk violently on the chain and the music stopped. The lightning was gone and Thor slid down against the wall onto a bench, spent and much calmer. "Did you hurt your hands?" Shuri asked as she approached him.

As soon as Thor heard Shuri's voice, he smiled. Then he looked down at his knuckles which were a little bruised but nothing serious. "They'll heal quick enough," he replied as he moved over to give her a space to sit down. "I'll apologize in advance for my current state."

Shuri laughed him off as she sat down beside him. "I had a brother who was far worse as a teenager. He could clear warthogs away after training."

"Loki often compares me to a bilgesnipe," Thor laughed. "Big, antlered creature that makes a mess of everything."

Shuri laughed out loud. "Well then, he looked like he got run over by one when I went looking for you," she said through her laughter. "I don't know why he's so run down today. He wasn't the one standing between Captain America and Iron Man."

"Anthony and Steven aren't that bad. They just needed someone to give them the push," Thor stated. "But I do have something to ask of you...a favor."

Shuri became concerned. "What is it that you need?"

Thor gently took Shuri's hands in his, his gaze downwards at first before meeting her eyes. "If something should happen and Loki and I don't return...Asgard's throne will be empty. If that tragedy happens, would you watch over my people? Will you look after them as you do your own?"

Shuri let out a shuddering breath and nodded before she pulled her hands from his and wrapped them around his neck and hugged him. "Your people are already mine. There is no difference between them."

Thor wrapped his arms around Shuri's back, pulling her closer to him, practically sitting her across his lap with their height difference. He buried his face in her shoulder as he thanked her.

Shuri rested her head against Thor's as he hugged her. "I just have something to ask in return," she whispered.

"Anything," Thor replied. "You have but to ask."

Shuri held him tight. "Come back," she whispered. "Make sure you come back when this is done. I don't want to have to tell your people that they have lost you as well. Please, come back."

Thor swallowed hard, trying to keep it together. "I have no plans to die tomorrow."

Shuri closed her eyes and sighed in relief. Despite how tightly he held her, she felt the tension drain out of him in her arms. He was tired and a little sweaty but he made her feel warm and safe as if right now was where she should be. She didn't want to let go and it seemed to her that Thor was reluctant to do the same.

"My Queen," Okoye called as she entered the training center, causing Thor and Shuri to reluctantly release each other. "My apologies, but your mother wishes a word before you retire for the evening."

"Tell her I'll be right there," Shuri responded as she stood up. "You need to sleep too. Good night. I'll see you in the morning," she told Thor before leaving with Okoye.

* * *

The Avengers gathered in Shuri's lab before dawn. It was impressive to have Iron Man, Captain America and Black Widow along side both sons of Odin in full Asgardian battle armor fit for the royalty they were. Everyone was as fully armed as they could be, especially Rocket with his little care package. Shuri outfitted everyone with limitless communicators so she could still track them with Bruce from her lab.

"Once the portal opens, we will have barely more than a minute to cross it," Loki instructed. "We can't afford delays."

Thor turned to Shuri. "I guess that's my cue," he said as he delicately lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles before adding a gently kiss on her cheek. "That we will talk about later," he whispered to her before joining his brother.

"Are we quite ready?" Loki asked impatiently.

"Let's be done with this," Thor agreed.

Loki summoned his magic, fortified with the electricity from Thor's lightning. The runes illuminated once more. Together, Thor and Loki pressed the runes in order – the order Thanos claimed the stones. POWER, SPACE, REALITY, SOUL, TIME, MIND. The portal opened with a white flash and in a blink the Avengers were gone.


	11. Chapter 11

The white light lifted to reveal lush green tiered hills and deep valleys. A gentle breeze ruffled the grasses but it seemed too quiet.

"Did we even leave Earth?" Tony asked as he looked around.

"This looks like the Philippines," Natasha added as she pulled out her weapons.

"Are you sure we're in the right spot, Thor?" Steve asked.

Thor nodded as he took Stormbreaker in his hand. "We are," he stated solemnly as he pointed to a shack on the hill. "That's our target."

"This asshole decimates half the life forms in the universe and he goes to hide out in a busted ass shack?" Tony asked in disbelief as they climbed the hill.

"At least that means traps could be minimal," Steve added. "Can't hide much in a wide open straw hut."

"You'd be surprised at what you can do," Loki commented. "A few well placed tricks can make a whole difference."

"What did you do this time?" Natasha inquired as Thor pushed ahead of them. He knew what Loki was speaking of.

"I posed as Odin for a few years and everyone believed it," Loki responded. "Until Thor threw his hammer at my head."

"You know you deserved it," Thor said dryly as the shack came into view.

Just as it was in Thor's dream, it was empty and the wrecked gauntlet was just laying on the floor. Thanos' armor stood up like a scarecrow sentinel. Everyone approached on high alert, weapons drawn and ready to battle. Thor picked up the wrecked gauntlet and checked to make sure all six stones were there and hopefully undamaged. "Let's get the hell out of here," Thor commented as he held tightly on to that cursed item that brought so much pain.

"First things first," Rocket interrupted as he scampered up into the shack and wired up his bomb. "Can't forget my present."

"That's not going to blow the whole world to hell, is it?" Steve asked.

"No, just his personal bubble," Rocket said smiling as he caught up to Thor.

"Loki, please get us out of here before he comes back and finds that," Thor requested.

"My pleasure, brother," Loki replied smoothly as he reopened the portal and within a blink, they were back in Wakanda.

* * *

As the portal reopened, Shuri's breath caught in her throat. She prayed that they were successful and all of them were coming back. She became evermore relieved as she saw Tony, Steve, Natasha, Rocket and Loki step back out of the portal – in one piece seemingly unharmed. It wasn't until she saw Thor that her face lit up with a bright smile. Shuri ran to him, unable to stop herself as she jumped into his arms and kissed him as she hugged him tightly.

Thor was knocked back on his feet as Shuri jumped into him. "You pack a punch for someone so small," he laughed as he embraced her.

"You have no idea yet," Shuri laughed.

"I know I have been out of the loop for a bit," Tony said as he retracted his armor and watched Shuri practically pounce on Thor. "But I didn't know Point Break's new girlfriend was the Panther Kitten. I thought he was all head over heels on Jane Foster. No one thought to mention this?"

"From what Thor said, he and Jane broke up some time ago," Bruce commented as he came up to his friends.

"But not one of you seemed to notice him getting all snugly with the Panther Kitten?" Tony asked again.

"We did," Natasha commented. "Just didn't see the point in mentioning it. He's free to see who ever he chooses. They have spent a decent amount of time together over the last few months and they just seem to make sense together."

Tony actually then turned to Loki. "I'm sure you have an opinion on this."

"I do but I'm not sure why you feel you need to have one as well," Loki stated. "I am happy for my brother. Shuri has made him smile again after he has suffered greatly. I wish for them all the happiness in the world and highly suggest that you do not call her Kitten in either of their presences. If you do, I am sure I will enjoy watching one or both of them kick your ass."

"No one is throwing me out of another window," Tony said dryly.

* * *

Hours later, Thor, Shuri and Loki joined the others for dinner with six small vibrainium containers in their hands. Thor and Shuri set them on the table in between them as everyone started to eat. Tony was the first to take notice of them.

"Are those what I think they are?" he asked.

Thor nodded. "Yes, they are the gems free from the gauntlet."

"Where's the gauntlet?" Steve inquired.

Thor smiled. "Which part?"

Rocket started to smirk and then laugh. "You took that pretty ax of yours and busted it to bits, didn't you?"

"He had a terrible amount of fun with it," Loki confirmed.

"I can not deny that," Thor laughed before it faded to a more serious tone. "Now, that the stones are free, they need to be protected. They are dangerous to use without knowledge and some are even deadly to touch. We must swear not to use these at all until we discover how to reverse what has been done," he said as he gave each stone to its guardian.

"It would go a great deal faster if I still had access to the libraries of Asgard," Loki sighed. "All of the books on the Stones were there."

"Those couldn't be the only copies, correct?" Shuri spoke up.

"She's right. They're not. Strange had a library in New York that could almost rival what Asgard had," Thor remembered.

"And Wong had some knowledge of the stones when we were there," Bruce added.

"Well, that's all well and good but how am I going to get in there?" Loki inquired. "I'm not exactly a welcomed person in New York and Strange illustrated that quite efficiently."

Thor thought about it for a moment. "You weren't recognized when we went looking for Father."

"But you definitely were," Loki countered. "By your adoring fans."

"Yes, but that's not the point," Thor responded. "A disguise, even as simple as Midgardian clothes, and many do not know who you are. I can bring us right to the Sanctum with the Bifrost. We give the Time Stone to Wong, get the books we need and come back. This can work."

Loki knew Thor was right. "Then what are we waiting for."

* * *

Thor and Loki were gone barely more than an hour. They had left with the Time Stone and returned with six books on the Infinity Stones and one on astral projection. The two brothers quickly sequestered themselves to try and figure out a way to crack into the stones without actually shattering them.

"How long do you give the two of them before they start fighting?" Bruce asked as Thor and Loki walked off.

"With or without weapons?" Natasha added.

"How long has it been since both of them actually slept more than a few hours?" Steve asked.

"Point Break and Reindeer Games? I give them thirty tops before we start to hear the yelling," Tony commented as he set his watch. "Anyone want to place bets?"

"Weapons will start ten after that," Rocket commented. "I'll place ten on that."

Shuri looked at all of them in shock at what she was hearing. "I can not believe that the lot of you would take bets on when two brothers start fighting. I am not staying around for this. Good night," she stated before retiring to her rooms.

* * *

Once away from all those who had more backgrounds of science rather than magic, Loki set to the double task of trying to teach Thor magic while gaining a deeper understanding of the stones. He handed the book on astral projection to Thor while he opened the first of the ancient tomes on the stones.

Thor was never one for book work as a child, having much preferred a more hands on approach to learning things. He started to skim through the pages of the book and he just didn't have the patience to go through it as he needed. "You know I never understood most of this," Thor groaned as he closed the book and pushed it aside. "Why don't you just show me how to do it?"

"You've seen me do it for years, brother," Loki deadpanned from the table where he had set up all the books.

"Fine, I'll rephrase it," Thor sighed. "Explain to me how you do it. Talk me through it."

Loki sighed and marked his place in the book. "This is why I never took on an apprentice," he muttered under his breath as he took a seat on the floor across from his brother. "First, get comfortable and clear your mind. You need to focus solely on one thing, the vision of your inner self. You need to see your soul almost as a separate entity of you and use your internal energy to push it out from you. The first times that you succeed in astral projection, it will only appear as a shadow. As you can focus you energy more, the projection will become more embodied until you are able to control it separate from yourself." Loki took a deep breath and slowed down his own process of astral projection to try to demonstrate what he had just explained. It took less than a minute for a second Loki to appear and sit down at the abandoned books. "Now, your turn."

Thor sighed again as he tried to follow Loki's instructions. Unfortunately, the only thing he ended up producing was lightning sparks. He quickly grew frustrated. He had been trying to follow the instructions Loki had given him but it was utterly useless. Thor growled in frustration as he hung his head in his hands. "I still don't understand why you can't do this."

"I told you why," Loki remarked, not looking up from the book he was scouring. "The soul stone won't respond to me. I have done too many devious acts and it won't trust me. You are the only one who can do this. My job is to protect you so your soul doesn't get sucked into the stone."

"I am not the sorcerer!" Thor spat. "You are. You have studied all of this for centuries with Mother guiding you at every step. I am trying to learn this in hours...days...with very little help."

Loki bit back what he wanted to say. It would do no good to insult Thor when he was actually trying. "Frigga's and Odin's blood flows through your veins more than it does mine. You just have to find a way to reach into it."

"Well, maybe if they were still here, I'd have a better shot," Thor ground out at he got up from the floor, grabbed the book and started to walk out the door.

"Where the hell are you going?" Loki growled.

"Anywhere but here!" Thor roared as he slammed the door behind him.

* * *

Thor made his way down the quiet hallways to Shuri's chambers. He knew he shouldn't be here so late but he just couldn't deal with Loki right now. He knocked softly at her door and hoped he wasn't disturbing her.

Shuri opened her door to find a very tired and borderline angry Thor there. "Things aren't going so well, are they?"

Thor shook his head. "I needed a break and I had to get away from Loki at the moment. May I come in?"

Shuri opened her door wider for him. "Of course," she said smiling.

Thor came in and practically fell on to Shuri's couch, resting his head on the back of it as he closed his eyes.

Shuri closed the door and sat down next to him. From a distance, she could see how tense he was. It was written all over his face that magic lessons were not going well at all. "What can I do to help?" she asked gently.

"I just don't want to think about it any longer," Thor sighed. "I have never been any good at this and that was one of the reasons why my mother stopped trying to teach me as a child and focused on Loki. He had a natural talent for it and I was far better at weapons." Thor rubbed his eyes and sat up. "I know how much is riding on this and I have to get it right. I don't want to fail again."

Shuri sighed as she sat across Thor's legs so she could look directly at him. "I don't think you allow failure to be a part of your vocabulary. But what I do see is that you are exhausted and stressed so continuing in this state will never lead to success, just frustration. So, I propose an alternative. Just my suggestion, feel free to modify, I think you should soak in a hot bath for a while to release some of the obvious tension I can see and then you and I can watch a movie or something. No thinking involved. Just mindless time."

Thor closed his eyes again and let his head fall against Shuri with a sigh of release. "I think you have a brilliant plan."

"I'll start a bath for you. Would you like to pick the movie?" Shuri asked as she excused herself to the bathroom.

"You can," Thor said tiredly. "I don't know very many except when my friends did movie night."

Shuri emerged from the bathroom and started to thumb through her movie collection with a smile. "You go ahead in. There's bath salts and oils if you choose and towels are in the closet."

Thor pushed himself up from the couch and followed Shuri's suggestion, leaving the bathroom door open a crack so he could still speak with her.

Shuri heard the movement of the water and a very audible groan of relief as Thor relaxed in the water. "So did Loki do anything in particular to irritate you or was it the whole process in general?" she called through the door.

"I might have been more irritated with myself rather than him," Thor admitted as he sunk lower in the water. "I never caught on to this well and I was frustrated. I also might have said somethings to him that weren't exactly kind."

"What did you say?"

There was a pause before Thor spoke. "Loki sort of blames himself for our mother's death and when our father passed, I put some of the blame on him," Thor admitted. "In my anger, I threw their absence back in his face. I will owe him an apology for that."

"I'm sure you will be able to apologize in the morning after you both have calmed down," Shuri reminded him. "Now, take as long as you wish. When you're ready, I've got snacks and a movie all picked out. You can tell me how accurate it is. By any chance, did you have dragons on Asgard?"

Thor laughed. "Not on Asgard but there were some fire dragons on Muspelheim. One tried to eat me."

"Ever tried to train one?" Shuri laughed.

Thor came out of the bathroom in the sweatpants he had been wearing earlier, roughly drying his hair with a towel before tossing it on a chair. "Didn't you hear me? I said it tried to eat me. I don't think trying to train the beast would have exactly been a good idea."

Shuri laughed as she sat on her bed and relaxed against all the pillows she had built up and patted the spot next to her. "Then you might appreciate this."

Thor stretched out on the bed next to Shuri, making himself comfortable as Shuri started the movie. "You mean to tell me that these people trust children to train dragons? That sounds like a recipe for certain demise," Thor questioned in horror as the movie started.

"You may be surprised, Just watch," Shuri said with a smile as she pulled one of her blankets up over them.

Thor started with a few questions but before long he grew quiet. Shuri looked over to see that he had fallen asleep. Shuri pulled the blanket up higher, tucking it around his shoulders and kissed his forehead gently before getting more comfortable herself to finish the movie.

* * *

The bright sunlight filtered through the curtains of Shuri's room, waking her up. It took her a moment to remember why Thor was in her bed, still sound asleep next to her. He had fallen asleep while they were watching a movie because Loki had stressed him out. She tried to slip out of bed as carefully as possible so she didn't wake him. He was obviously exhausted and needed the rest. Shuri picked up the ancient book he had brought with him last night and sat down on her couch, starting to read it. It didn't take long before she could identify the science behind the magic.

"Are you able to understand it?" Thor asked sleepily as he came into the living room.

Shuri nodded. "I think I do," she stated with a smile. "Feeling better?"

Thor nodded as he took a seat beside her. "I'm sorry I missed the rest of the movie."

"It's fine. You obviously needed the sleep more," Shuri told him as she kissed his cheek gently. "Are you willing to try this again?" she asked, pointing to the book. "Maybe I can try to talk you through it."

Thor sighed before he nodded and took a seat on the floor. "I'm ready when you are."

Shuri explained it similarly to Loki but Thor was much calmer now than he was last night. He closed his eyes and focused his energy. He felt his lightning at first but as he pushed deeper, he felt something jump from him.

"Thor, open your eyes," Shuri told him.

As he opened his eyes, he saw a shadowy version of himself sitting in front of him before it faded. He had done it. It was crude and unrefined but he had done it.

"Try again," Shuri encouraged. "This time, try to hold the focus longer to see if you can control it."

Thor closed his eyes, slowed his breathing, pulled his energy deep from within him and he felt the pull once more – stronger than before. He cautiously opened his eyes and saw the slightly less shadowy form in front of him, walking at his command. As it faded, Thor couldn't help but smile. "I did it. I actually did it. We must tell Loki."

Thor grabbed Shuri's hand and nearly ran back down to the room he shared with Loki. He threw open the door to find Loki not much different from when he left except he had gone through two of the books and the dark shadows under his eyes showed that he had not slept at all. "I got it."

Loki was still slightly annoyed that he had been abandoned the night before but the news of Thor actually accomplishing astral projection was enough to push it aside. "Show me."

Thor produced his astral self for a third time and even managed to pull it back, leaving Loki quite impressed.

"Well, I'll be damned," Loki remarked. "There may be hope for you yet as a magic user. Now, comes the hard part. Trying to examine inside the stone."

"Were your right?" Thor asked pointing to the books. "Will this work?"

Loki nodded. "You should be able to project into the stone and see if the souls lost are inside. Interaction though will depend on you. Keep practicing," he said before turning to Shuri. "Can I speak with you for a moment?"

"What's the problem?" Shuri asked cautiously.

"He will need you when we do this and possibly one more," Loki started. "If this works, this will take a toll on my brother both physically and emotionally. Thor still feels a great deal of guilt over what happened even though he tries to hide it. This will bring it right to the forefront again. When he pulls back from this, he will need you. He will need you to anchor him here and keep him from falling apart."

"Why me?" Shuri asked.

"Because he loves you," Loki stated. "Seeing your eyes as the first thing will help him when he may need it the most."

"I don't want him hurt," Shuri stated.

"That's my job," Loki stated.

* * *

Later that evening after dinner, Thor and Loki made the first attempt on the Soul Stone. Sitting in the middle of their room while Shuri was off to the side out of the way, Thor took the Soul Stone in his hand while Loki sat next to him. With his hand on his brother's shoulder, Loki cast a protection charm around Thor to keep him from being taken by the stone. Thor closed his eyes and focused on creating the astral projection. It was getting easier every time he did it. Once it was cast, he focused it on going into the Soul Stone. Thor felt the pull form the stone and when he opened his eyes, everything was orange.

At first, he was alone inside the stone and his heart sank. He thought they had been wrong where all the souls had gone. But soon, he heard voices. Voices that grew louder as the mist dissipated. Soon, the fog vanished and figures started appearing. Thousands of people, trying to find loved ones or at least those who were familiar to them. It wasn't long before he could start to recognize them. First, he saw Rabbit's friends and then Shuri's brother. He recognized the Panther form. Then he saw Nick Fury and Maria Hill, Wanda and Steve's friends – Sam and Bucky. Doctor Strange materialized along side the spider boy that Tony had described.

Doctor Strange soon noticed that Thor was there. "You're here but you're not here," he commented as he stepped forward. "How are you doing this?"

"We learned how to manipulate the Soul Stone," Thor answered. "We're trying to figure out how to use the stones to reverse what was done."

"When you find out the pattern, use the stones in sequence not simultaneously," Strange warned. "They will need to feed from each other."

Thor nodded in understanding as Quill approached. "Didn't you have one eye?"

"Rabbit is very resourceful. He was kind enough to provide a replacement," Thor stated. "Tree will tell you the same."

* * *

Loki had been paying attention to how long Thor was down for and he needed to start pulling him out. "Shuri, it's time," he called over to her as he gently tapped the magic he had shielding Thor. He had hoped that the green flash would reach him.

"How do you want me to do this?" Shuri asked.

"I need you to sit directly facing him and as close as possible," Loki instructed as he gestured with his free hand. "He needs to hear you say his name, feel your touch. We need to bring him back to reality and you are his anchor."

Shuri situated herself in the gap where Thor's legs crossed so she could face him. It felt a little more awkward since they weren't alone. She watched as his eyes darted back and forth under his eye lids. She placed her hands gently on his cheeks before kissing him gently. "Thor, come back to me."

Loki strategically moved his hand to the back of Thor's neck as he tapped the shield again. "Come on, brother. Pull back."

Thor's body jerked and his eyes opened. Disoriented and dizzy, he tried to scan the room before Shuri gently directed his gaze to her. It took a few moments but Thor soon recognized where he was and he wrapped his arms around Shuri, pulling her closer to him as he rested his head on her shoulder.

Shuri held Thor as tight as she could, one hand stroking his hair as the other held him. She could feel him shaking as he embraced her.

"How are you doing, brother?" Loki asked cautiously.

"I don't know how you do this all the time," Thor mumbled. "My head hurts. I'm dizzy and exhausted." Thor paused for a moment. "And my nose is bleeding."

Loki ran to get a cloth from the bathroom. "As you said, I've had centuries of practice," he commented as he handed the cloth to Shuri for Thor. "But when I was learning this as a child, I ended up pretty much the same way."

"Were they there?" Shuri asked gently as she helped Thor with his bleeding nose.

He nodded. "All of them," he whispered. "Strange told me that when we find out the pattern for the stones, to activate them sequentially not simultaneously. Rabbit's friend Quill had to make a comment on my eye."

"I'll remember that," Loki replied. "Can you stand, brother? We should probably get you to bed."

Thor tried to lift his head and instantly regretted it. Everything started to spin again. He put his head right back where it was. "Not without help. Everything is spinning."

"Not to worry. We'll take care of you," Loki said calmly as he and Shuri managed to get Thor to his feet with one arm over each of their shoulders. Loki managed to take the bulk of his brother's dead weight. "Should we do 'get help'?" Loki joked.

"Only if you want me to throw up," Thor retorted as the slowly made their way to the bedroom.

"I'll pass on that one," Loki replied as he helped his brother to lie down. Thor was fading as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Shuri adjusted his blanket up around his shoulders before crawling up next to him. "I'll take care of him. You need to find the stone pattern," she told Loki as she propped herself up with one of Thor's other pillows.

"Call me if you need me," Loki stated as he excused himself and left his sleeping brother in the arms of the woman who clearly loved him as much as he did her.

* * *

The first twenty-four hours were a blur. Shuri only left Thor's side for the most basic necessities. Loki had brought food for her so she wouldn't starve. A lot of the time, she ended up dozing off for a bit right next to Thor. It was sometime around one in the morning on the second day when Loki finally crashed. He stumbled in and crawled into his bed.

"I got the pattern," he stated tiredly as was trying to move his blanket.

"Are you okay with me here?" Shuri whispered as she left Thor's side for a moment only to help Loki get more comfortable.

"Normally, this would be difficult for me," Loki whispered hoarsely as he sunk into his pillow. "But, you are different. I haven't actually slept in more than five days and you've already saved my life once so I doubt you would try to end it now. Plus, with you here, I won't have to charm my brother's silence."

"Sleep well, Loki," Shuri whispered. "You need it as much as Thor does."


	12. Chapter 12

It was late morning when Shuri finally saw Thor move. He hadn't even shifted position in his sleep so when he did turn on his side facing her, she thought he was just getting comfortable again until she saw his eyes peek open.

"Good morning," Shuri told him warmly.

Thor rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times to focus his one good eye. The mechanical one readjusted on its own. "What time is it?" he groaned.

"More like what day is it?" Shuri laughed. "You've been out for nearly thirty-six hours."

Thor looked at her in shock. "You're joking, right?"

Shuri shook her head. "Nope."

Thor looked over to Loki's bed where his brother was still very much asleep. "When did he finally give out?"

"About ten hours ago."

"And you stayed here the whole time?" Thor asked almost questioning the words as the came out of his mouth.

Shuri nodded. "Well, most of it."

What happened next almost happened on reflex. When Thor had heard that she had never left his side, he pulled her close to him and kissed her so deeply that it left them both breathless when they parted.

The kiss had surprised Shuri at first but soon she gave in. "I want more," she gasped when they broke apart as she moved in to kiss Thor again.

For a moment, Thor gave into her before his rational mind took over. He knew she was close enough to feel how he was reacting to her and he had to stop. "As much as I want to continue this," he gasped breathlessly. "There are two immediate issues which would prevent it."

"Such as?" Shuri asked, trying to catch her breath.

"Number one, I may sleep through a herd of wild horses running through my bedroom but HE doesn't," Thor whispered as he gestured to Loki sleeping in the next bed.

Shuri couldn't exactly argue that. "What's number two?"

Before Thor could answer, his stomach rumbled loudly and quite embarrassingly. He cringed and felt his face flush with embarrassment. "That would be number two."

Shuri tried to muffle her laughter but it was hard. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to laugh. You haven't eaten anything in two days."

"That's not my fault," Thor complained playfully as he got up from the bed.

* * *

By the time Loki had finally gotten up and joined them, Thor had already managed to polish off two substantial bowls of chicken, rice and vegetables. Loki sat down with Shuri and Thor and greeted them pleasantly.

"Are you hungry?" Shuri asked him as Thor was tucking into a third bowl.

"Yes, please," Loki replied, rubbing his eyes and still trying to wake up.

Shuri called for another bowl and sat back down as the two brothers ate. Normally, Loki ate like a bird in comparison to Thor. It surprised Shuri to see him devouring the food just as fast as his older brother.

"Loki, did you neglect to get any food for yourself while you made sure I ate while I was sitting with Thor?" Shuri questioned him as she put all the pieces together that he was far hungrier than he let on.

Loki didn't answer but his head and gaze clearly shifted downward as he ate.

Thor noticed his brother's posture after the question was asked. He couldn't be angry with him for making sure that Shuri was taken care of but he was concerned that he did not care for himself. "Loki, is this true?" he asked carefully as to not let his brother think he was angry with him. "If it is, I need to impart some wisdom that was passed on to me by someone far more intelligent than I. I was reminded that we can not suitably care for others if we do not care for ourselves."

Loki didn't answer right away but there was a small hint of a smile on his face. "Her Majesty is very observant," he commented. "And very wise."

Shuri smiled. "So, you told me that you found the pattern we needed before you fell asleep. Don't you think we should test it out before we go full force?"

"And how would we do that without actually using the stones?" Loki countered.

Shuri rolled her eyes. "With technology."

Loki raised an eyebrow at the comment. "But the technology on this planet is so archaic."

Shuri looked downright offended at the comment. "Excuse me?"

Thor shot a look to his brother.

"Okay, not yours," Loki quickly apologized before Thor bore a hole through his head. "The rest of the planet is another story."

"Perhaps you should explain it further for him," Thor suggested to Shuri.

"I scanned the stones' properties when we had all of them here. We could virtually run a program with the specs I have to see if it could work before we actually use the stones."

Loki nodded in understanding before turning to Thor. "You let her play with the gauntlet before you destroyed it, didn't you?"

"It was for scientific research," Thor said in his own defense.

* * *

In Shuri's lab, she pulled up all her files she made on the stones and brought them up on her interactive interface. All six stones appeared and she looked to Loki. "Give me the pattern we need to try out."

"We start with activating the Soul Stone," Loki started. "This could potentially be harder than just looking inside of it."

"You're not making me feel better about this," Thor added.

"That's why I'm going to be helping you as well as protecting you," Loki replied.

"I thought you said that you could not touch the stone," Shuri countered.

"I can't," Loki replied. "But I can touch him. My magic will go through Thor."

"If you say so," Shuri sighed. "Which is next?"

"The Power Stone," Loki stated as she Shuri pulled the purple stone forward. "This one will be used to supercharge the magic Thor and I will be using. This one will be surrounding us."

"That's going to hurt," Thor groaned. "We're going to take a beating with that one."

"I do apologize for that again, brother," Loki stated. "I never meant for you to have to suffer through that at his hands."

Thor knew Loki was referring to when Thanos put the Power Stone to his head on the remnants of their escape vessel. "I know that now. I withstood the full force of a star to forge Stormbreaker. I can take the Power Stone again if I have to. The real question is can you, brother?"

"I've dealt with worse," Loki sighed. "All the same, you had better keep Stormbreaker close by when we do this."

Shuri had to force down her concern and fear as she listened to Thor and Loki explain what the Power Stone could do. "The next step?" she interjected, trying to keep the procedure at the forefront of her mind.

"The next four stones will surround the Soul Stone itself. These will need to be cast in rapid succession but not simultaneously. The Time Stone is next. It will start to rewind what had been done. Then the Mind Stone will restore conscious thought to those who had vanished. The Reality Stone will restore corporeal form and the Space Stone will in theory send everyone home," Loki explained. "If we did everything right, this should restore those who were lost."

Shuri started the simulation. Each stone started to glow as they reacted with one another but the simulation came to a quick and sudden stop. Her simulation failed and it shouldn't have failed. "Perhaps the order could be wrong?"

"No, the order is correct," Loki stated as he re-watched the simulation. "It has to work. Perhaps your simulation didn't go far enough into the stones."

"We're not going to know if it will actually work until we try it out," Thor interrupted. "And we may only get one shot."

"We are risking a great deal here. What happens if we have made a mistake?" Shuri questioned full of concern.

"I seem to make mistakes all the time," Thor admitted. "Everything seems to work out in the end. It's just a little rough getting there sometimes."

"You're awfully confident about this considering we are going into this almost blindly," Shuri spat back.

Thor stood up from the chair he was sitting in, crossed over to Shuri and held her close to him as he rested his head on top of hers. "I'm an optimist by nature and I have confidence in our plan. I trust my brother's research because I know he hates failure just as much as I do. I trust your analysis in the stones. I made a promise to you that we would find your brother just as you found mine. I have personally seen T'Challa inside that stone and I know we can release him."

Shuri sighed as she rested her head against Thor's chest. She didn't like going into this without knowing all the details. She could usually solve any problem with science and technology but this time she had to give into magic. "When do we do this?"

"Tonight," Loki replied. "We have a few hours to explain to the Stone Keepers what they need to do."

* * *

Thor, Shuri and Loki sat down in the chairs of Shuri's Grand Council with Tony, Steve, Wong and Rocket filling in the rest. Natasha, Rhodey and Pepper stood off to the side to make sure nothing was missed.

"Tonight, we undo what Thanos did. We return those who were turned to dust," Thor started to explain. "We have a short period of time to explain to all of you how you will play your part."

"You're sure about this particular plan?" Rocket questioned. "I mean...I'm not doubtin' ya or anything but it seems like this was thrown together rather quickly."

Thor smiled. "I am sure of this, Rabbit."

"The stones need to be activated in a certain order and very particular placement and timing," Loki explained as he conjured the stones in the air in the center of them. "We found out that the stones must be activated in a chain, not simultaneously. All of the stones will need to feed off the Soul Stone to reverse what has happened."

"After Loki and I open the Soul Stone, Tony, you will cast the Power Stone around us to amplify the magic. A word of caution. The Power Stone is akin to a weapon. It is extremely destructive. You must hold in your mind that you are using it to strengthen us even as it possibly hurts us," Thor explained.

"I have no desire to hurt you, Thor," Tony stated quickly as he almost backed away from the stone in question.

"I know you don't and I know that would not be the intention as the last time I had up close experience with that stone," Thor said calmly. "I can take it. You need to protect yourself more."

"The Time Stone is second," Loki continued as he looked towards Wong. "Cast the incantation directly at the Soul Stone to reverse time for those trapped inside it only."

"The Mind Stone is third," Thor said as he looked towards Shuri. "You need to awaken those inside. Imagine that you are reigniting and reattaching the synapses that were broken."

"The Reality Stone is fourth," Loki stated as he looked to Rocket. "You need to imagine that everyone is a puzzle and you are putting their bodies back together again."

"He can't touch the stone without protection," Thor interrupted. "How can we protect him?"

"I have an idea," Shuri stated as she got up from her chair and crossed to a cabinet. She opened the doors and pulled out a necklace made of metal teeth. "This was a prototype of the Black Panther armor I made for my brother. It will adjust to your size and it should protect you," she said as she placed the necklace around Rocket's neck.

Rocket looked at the necklace and up to Shuri. "I think you and I need to work together more often."

"I look forward to it," Shuri said warmly.

"Last, is the Space Stone," Thor said to Steve. "You just have to keep in your mind to send everyone home."

"What about those who were on Titan when all this went down?" Tony asked, remembering exactly who turned to dust right before his eyes there.

"If they return there instead of Earth," Wong interjected before Loki or Thor could. "Strange was with them and he can bring them here."

"Does everyone understand what they need to do?" Thor asked a bunch of scared but comprehending faces in front of him.

"Then we meet on the field at dusk," Loki ordered.

* * *

As the sun set on Wakanda, the Stone keepers gathered on the field where so much life was lost. Now, they hoped to restore it.

"We must form a circle," Loki instructed as he moved in front of his brother. "You must be touching the person next to you at all times. Line up in order of casting the stones."

Tony stepped up next to Thor. His left hand went to his shoulder while his right held the power stone in the glove of his Iron Man armor.

Wong stepped up next to Tony followed by Shuri. Rocket stepped up and was faced with the issue of his considerable height difference.

Before the issue could get bigger, Steve stepped up and put Rocket on his shoulders. "I'm not Thor but I think it could work."

"I think I'm beginning to like some of you Avengers," Rocket commented.

Thor completed the circle with Steve and looked down at the stone in his hand. "Are we ready to do this?"

"It's now or never, brother," Loki stated as he took a hold of Thor's wrist and cast the protection spell around him.

Thor relaxed and focused his energy on the Soul Stone. Lightning started to twist with the green glow that already surrounded him from Loki. It did not take long before an orange glow illuminated the center of the circle.

Once Thor had the Soul Stone locked open, Loki looked to Tony. "Stark, do it now. He's not going to hold it on his own."

Tony whispered an apology before raising his hand and firing a steady purple bolt from the Power Stone directly around Thor. As it hit, Thor gritted his teeth in obvious pain but he held through it.

"Go now!" Loki cried out to the other four.

In rapid succession, green, yellow, red and blue bolts surrounded the Soul Stone. Now, they just had to hold the strength.

As all six stones interacted with each other, the Soul Stone soon lifted up from Thor's hand followed by the other five soon after. The stones levitated about two feet above their heads as everyone took a few steps back.

"Loki? Is this your doing?" Thor questioned.

Loki shook his head. "This is why the simulation didn't work. We didn't account for the stones acting on their own."

The stones soon became brightly colored blurs until bolts of light of every color started to erupt from the center of the Soul Stone. The rose into the sky and exploded like fireworks, raining ash back down to Earth. As the ashes hit the solid ground, they started to form shapes which shifted back into living forms.

Shuri broke from the circle and went straight into Thor's arms as the fireworks exploded around them, lighting up the night sky. "It worked. We did it."

"This is one of the best victories I have ever had," Thor responded as he wrapped his arms around Shuri and the stones gave off their energy one by one and fell to the ground.

One by one, more and more people started to reappear and started to search for those they knew. Bucky and Sam quickly found Steve. Groot and Wanda emerged from the trees. A portal opened up on the field and the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy stepped out followed by Peter and Strange. From the shadows a purple glow started to reveal the form of a cat and soon T'Challa emerged.

T'Challa saw from across the field the man he had seen in the Soul Stone with Shuri next to him. "Shuri!" he called out to her.

At the sound of T'Challa's voice, Shuri looked up and saw her brother crossing the field. She broke from Thor and ran to him, nearly tackling him as she hugged him. "Wait until you hear what we went through. We have so much to tell."


	13. Chapter 13

The celebration and rejoicing of all the reunions went through the night. Most were either too exhilarated or too worried that they were dreaming to actually sleep. It was only as the sun rose that things started to quiet down even a little.

Loki sat alone in the dining hall, sipping at a cup of tea and eating a small plate of fruit. He was trying to read to take his mind off of things but it wasn't successful at all. He was worried and the God of Mischief and Lies was not hiding it well.

Rocket strolled into the dining hall, searching for something to eat after spending all night with his friends. He honestly walked right by Loki at first but then as he turned back, he noticed something wasn't quite right with Thor's brother. "I thought you Asgardians celebrate victories for days and weeks on end. This is a hell of a victory and you're not celebrating."

"You are quite right," Loki sighed. "I know Thor calls you Rabbit but I am fairly certain that it is not your name but you don't argue with him on it. What is your chosen name?"

"My name is Rocket," he responded as he held out his paw.

Loki shook Rocket's paw without hesitation. "Why don't you correct Thor? He would understand and probably be very apologetic about it. You get rather irritated with everyone else when they misname you."

Rocket shrugged. "Thor wasn't insulting when he called me Rabbit. In fact, he was quite complimentary. It doesn't bother me when he does it. When others call me rodent or vermin, that pisses me off. Anyway, back to my question. Why aren't you out celebrating?"

"Thor did share revelry with his friends for a brief time last night but things became far less jovial for us very quickly," Loki explained. "As we expected upon T'Challa's return, Shuri abdicated the throne last night in favor of her brother and returned to her status as Princess. We were not informed directly but we guessed that she spent most of the night filling her brother in on what has happened over the last few months. Then Thor was summoned by T'Challa very early this morning to the Grand Council room and he has yet to return. This makes me very nervous."

Rocket sat down on top of the table. "You don't seem like the type of guy who gets nervous that often. What gives?"

"My brother is a king who lives in another king's realm. I have seen far too many negotiations go wrong so quickly. Thor made our agreement with Shuri and T'Challa does not necessarily need to honor it. If he chooses not to, our people are again without a home."

Rocket nodded in understanding. "I get that but I think you're worried prematurely," he commented. "I did some sniffing around about T'Challa and he seems to be a fairly cool guy. He speaks of unity and opening up Wakanda to the world. I think you may be safe on that front. I'd be more concerned on how he feels about Thor with his sister."

"That's a whole different situation but equally distressing," Loki sighed. "It will not go well if T'Challa disagrees."

* * *

Entering the Grand Council chamber with T'Challa on the throne was a whole different feel than when Shuri was there. Instead of being on even keel with Shuri, T'Challa definitely looked at Thor as if he were an invading force at first. He had been to many a meeting like this with Odin except now he was on the other side of it.

"We have a great deal to discuss," T'Challa started.

Thor bowed his head respectfully. "That we do. Where would you like to start, Your Majesty?"

"First, tell me who you are," T'Challa stated. "I remember you showing up in a bolt of bright light in the battle and decimating those creatures in front of you before heading right for Thanos. Then, I saw you again in the Stone where you spoke with some of us."

"I am Thor, Son of Odin, King of Asgard," Thor started. "I am the God of Thunder who has fought along side the Avengers for a decade now."

"Shuri tells me that she offered your people a place to live when they had none. I will not negate that because I believe that those who are able should help those who are in need. I would like to know more about the circumstances that lead to this."

"Asgard fell to what we call Ragnarok. It was an inevitable destruction that was foretold well before even my father was born," Thor started. "When my father died, events unfolded which made Ragnarok unstoppable. My elder sister was released from an imprisonment that my father had sentenced her to. In her quest to be Queen, she laid waste to Asgard and its people. To save our people, my brother and I had no choice but to let Asgard be destroyed to stop our sister. We saved what was left of our people and escaped into space as Asgard burned. We had set a course for Earth, which I felt was the safest for my people. We were attacked by Thanos in his quest for the Infinity Stones. He killed half of what was left. I was separated from those who remained. Shuri helped me to find those who survived and she helped me to bring them here."

"How am I not to see you as a threat to my throne and my kingdom?" T'Challa asked calmly but there was a protectiveness under his question. He had his kingdom threatened by one of their own already.

"If I understand your history correctly, your kingdom is made up of a series of tribes who united under one king," Thor started to explain. "I have no desire to challenge you or usurp you. I care only for the well being of my people. I am supposed to be the King of All Nine Realms but Asgard exists only now as a small village thanks to your sister's hospitality and generosity. My people now are only another tribe and I am their leader. My people learned your ways and traditions while sharing Asgard's gifts with them, enriching both our cultures."

T'Challa was beginning to understand more about Thor. But, he was not done yet. "When I reappeared on the field, I saw you and my sister in an embrace that looked to be more than just friendship. Explain your dealings with my sister."

"Where would you like me to begin?"

"Let's start at the beginning."

Thor took a deep breath. "When I had first met Shuri, I had lost everything. We had failed against Thanos, my home had exploded, I believed my people to be scattered across space and my brother dead. As I succumbed to my misery, your sister reached out to me. She opened her heart and extended kindness, warmth and friendship when I needed it the most and my friends in the Avengers truly could not understand. We came from a shared experience and we connected. We grieved together. We found hope together. We moved forward together. She gave me something to believe in again. Friendship then blossomed into something more. It emerged as love and I do not use that word lightly."

"What are your intentions with my sister?" T'Challa asked.

"If Shuri consents and with your blessing of course, I would ask Shuri to be my wife and she would become Queen of Asgard," Thor said honestly. "I can't see my future without her in it and I don't want to."

"You are a god and she is human," T'Challa commented. "What will happen when her life is over? You will surely outlive her."

"Like my father when my mother passed, part of my heart will go with her," Thor admitted. "If you're asking me if I would take another wife after her passing, my answer would be no. If the power existed where I could make her as long lived as I am, I would extend that gift if I could."

For the first time since Thor had entered the room, a ghost of a smile had appeared on T'Challa's face. "I owe you more than I can ever repay. It is because of you that I am alive again."

"I didn't do it alone," Thor admitted. "Without my brother, Shuri and my friends, I would not have been successful."

"Nevertheless, I still owe you my life and that of many of my people," T'Challa continued. "When it comes to Shuri, she makes her own decisions and has very strong opinions on her choices. If she chooses you as her partner in life, I will be delighted and honored to give you my blessing and be proud to call you brother," he said as he extended his hand to Thor.

Thor gladly took the offered hand. "You would honor me with the same," he said with a smile. "Please, don't tell Shuri that we spoke of this."

"You have my word and I wish you most success," T'Challa replied."

* * *

By the afternoon, life was truly returning to what it had been before. People were in the streets shopping and working. Farmers were tending animals. Everyone started to just pick up from where they had left off.

The Avengers had said their goodbyes to Thor, T'Challa and even had a kind word for Loki. There was no way that they could deny that the one who once tried to conquer Earth just restored half of the universe's population. When the Quinjet and Tony's private jet departed from Wakanda, it would be the first time some of the Avengers had been home in quite sometime.

The Guardians of the Galaxy were a little slower to leave. Quill's ship was in less that stellar condition and in absolutely no shape to leave the planet. T'Challa generously offered his engineers to help with repairs just as Tony Stark had offered before he got on his jet with Pepper and Rhodey.

Thor had shed his Asgardian armor in favor of far more comfortable jeans and a hoodie. His conversation with T'Challa had gotten him thinking but everything was a mess in his head. There was only one he could even try to talk to. "Loki? Do you have a minute?" he asked softly as he stepped out of the bedroom.

Loki had been stretched out on the couch with a book, glad for the peace after the last few days. Thor actually surprised him when he called his name. Loki sat up and put his book aside. "Of course, brother. Is something wrong? How did the meeting with T'Challa fare?"

Thor sat down next to Loki. "No, there's nothing wrong. The meeting with T'Challa went well. Especially once he realized that I had no intention of trying to usurp him. It's actually the conversation that we had is what is causing me to seek out further advice." Thor paused for a moment, trying to fight back the nerves that were getting the best of him. "What would you say if I said I was considering proposing marriage to Shuri?"

Loki was a bit surprised at the question but he saw on his brother's face that this was no jest. "I would say that even though it has been only a few months that you have known each other, it would please me greatly to see her by your side and I would be honored to warmly welcome her to our family. Is this something you are putting some serious thought into?"

Thor reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, black velvet box and set it on the table in front of Loki. "I would have preferred it be Asgardian gold but Tony was able to get a jeweler to create what I wanted."

Loki picked up the small box and opened it. Inside was tri-tone gold ruby engagement ring. Rose, white and yellow gold were interwoven together with diamonds and rubies accenting the large ruby in the center. Thor was definitely serious in his plans. "This is stunning, Thor. How long have you been considering this?" Loki asked as he gave the ring back to his brother.

"Only recently have I been putting serious thought into it. When T'Challa asked me what my intentions were, I came to my final conclusion."

"When do you plan on asking her?" Loki inquired.

"This is what I don't know," Thor admitted. "I'm nervous."

"It's completely justified," Loki replied. "But if you're sure, I see no reason to wait. Go to her now."

"Thank you, brother," Thor said warmly as he stood up to leave.

"I hope fortune smiles on you and I look forward to toasting the both of you later," Loki replied with a smile.

* * *

Thor walked into Shuri's labs, nodding to the guards as he entered. He found her by her desk with a small rocket pack and a silver disk that she was working on. "Those don't look like yours," he commented as he came up behind her and kissed her cheek.

"They're not," Shuri smiled as she leaned back into Thor and ran her fingers through his short hair. "They're from Rocket. I asked him if I could look at them and possibly improve on them. He seemed to like the idea. This disk is fascinating. It produces something almost akin to a second skin bubble that protects the wearer from the environment of deep space. It's design is similar to what I used for my brother's suit. Speaking of my brother, how did your conversation go with T'Challa?"

"It went considerably better once he was certain I was not trying to overthrow him," Thor replied as he sat down next to her. "It was rather pleasant despite its inquisitive nature. It actually got me thinking." Thor paused for a moment as he fiddled with the ring box in his pocket. "I can't picture my life without you in in and I don't want to. I'm not going anywhere. You gave my people a home and I can't see my home without you in it. My heart belongs to you. You are its Queen and if you consent, the Queen my people would cherish and adore, just as I do. My brother said the sun would shine upon us again and for me, that means you. You are the sun after my storm." Thor pulled out the ring box, opened it and set it on the desk next to Shuri. "I love you and I would hope that you would do me the honor of becoming my wife."

Shuri gazed upon the beautiful ruby ring Thor had set before her and nearly stopped breathing when he asked her to marry him. Her heart wanted to say yes immediately but her head was telling her to wait. Was she ready for marriage? What would it mean to be Queen of this new Asgard? "May I think about this before I give you my answer?" Shuri asked quietly, her head getting the words out before her heart overruled them.

Thor felt his heart clinch in his chest at the question but he couldn't argue with her. He had just sprung this out of nowhere. "You may have all the time you need," he said as he stood up, leaving the ring on her desk. "I'll let you be and I will be awaiting your answer." Thor gently took Shuri's hand and kissed her knuckles before he left the lab, heading off by himself to try to protect himself from the worst.

Hours had passed before Shuri realized it. Holding the small box in her hand, her mind would not just let her accept. She had already been a Queen Regnant of Wakanda but she was not going to be the Regent. She would be Thor's consort. Did he have expectations of her? Shuri needed answers. She closed the ring box and went back to the palace to find her answers that she needed.

Loki had been waiting and watching the window most of the afternoon. As it got closer to sunset, it worried him that he started to see dark clouds forming in the distance. Just from the sensation in the air and the smell of the wind, he knew it was Thor. It was making him almost sick to his stomach. These clouds shouldn't be here if Shuri had said yes. Loki was getting so distracted that he was actually started by the knock at the door.

Loki opened the door and he was surprised to see Shuri there...alone. His heart sank as he noticed the ring was not on her finger. This could possibly be the worse possible scenario. "If you're going to reject him, please do it swiftly so I may watch my brother's back as his heart shatters."

Shuri was taken back by Loki's answer. "Why do you say this?"

"I know what my brother was planning to ask you," Loki admitted. "I was the one to encourage him to do it immediately. I hope I do not need to regret such a decision but I have been seeing the clouds build all afternoon."

Shuri cringed. She knew all too well that Thor's more powerful emotions have an impact on the weather. "I need help getting out of my own head and it seems that you may actually be the best one to do that."

"How may I be of service?" Loki asked with a bow as he welcomed her inside.

"I don't know how to be Queen of Asgard," Shuri blurted out. "I don't know what Thor expects of me as his consort."

"I don't think you are giving Thor enough credit and I am usually the one who underestimates him," Loki stated. "Our Mother, Frigga, was not merely Odin's consort. She did not play seconds to him and in many cases ruled in his stead. She was his equal, his other half. She was a warrior in her own right but she used it to protect her family instead of leading armies. She was brilliant and one of the greatest sorcerers in all of Asgard. There were times when she even put Odin in his place. Thor loves you and you would not be second to him. You are his equal, just as Frigga was. He needs you to help him as King."

"I don't want to give up what I have," Shuri quietly admitted.

Loki almost laughed. "My dear, the last thing Thor would do is have you give up anything. He would be the first one encouraging you." Loki looked out the window once more. "I do think you need to discuss this with him. I fear he may be thinking the worst without an answer."

"Where can I find him?" Shuri asked anxiously.

"I haven't seen him since he left here hours ago to see you," Loki admitted as he turned and pointed out the window. "My best guess is that you will find him at the center of that storm brewing out there."

"How can you be sure that's him?"

"I know my brother," Loki stated reassuringly. "His storms smell different than those of more Earthly origin. Go to him."

Thor sat on the ground at the edge of the lake just outside of Asgard's village. As the storm reflective of his emotions swirled around him, Thor had his knees pulled up, his head down below his folded arms. He knew he had been there for hours and as the sun sank lower in the sky and the clouds built around him, he was thinking more and more that he was going to lose Shuri.

Shuri sped out to the lake region where the storm had centered. It was hard to see with the dusk combined with the rain clouds but she could make out a sad looking silhouette on the lake shore. She grabbed a light from her speeder and pulled her hood up as she got out and approached him. "You know, I don't want my future husband sitting out here in the rain getting soaked and then whining and complaining when he's all cold and miserable."

"I'm not getting wet," Thor deadpanned. Then what was said to him finally reached his brain. All of a sudden, the rain stopped and Thor turned around. "What did you just say?"

Shuri stepped forward, smiling as she handed the ring box to Thor and held out her hand. "I said I will not have my future husband sitting in the mud and getting soaked in the rain."

Thor scrambled to his feet, nearly tripping over himself as he tried to get to Shuri so he could properly put the ring on her finger.

Shuri watched how Thor's hands shook as he slipped the ring on her finger. She saw his smile as he tried to hide the shuddering in his breath as he exhaled. She heard him sniff slightly as he embraced her like his life depended on it. Everything clicked together and Shuri felt horrible. "You've been thinking about this all afternoon, haven't you?" she asked gently as she held him tight.

Thor nodded ever so slightly. "And I've been absolutely terrified that I failed again and I was going to lose what is most precious to me," he admitted shakily as he rested his head against hers.

Shuri moved so that she could see his face. Placing her hand on his cheek, she could feel the remnants of tears there. "I never intended to say no," she told him gently. "You caught me by surprise and I'm not good with spontaneity. My brain needed time to wrap around the idea. My heart knew right away."

Thor leaned in and kissed her gently. "I should have expected that. I will try not to get so worked up next time," he said reassuringly before thunder cracked through the sky. "That wasn't me."

"Can you do anything about it?" Shuri asked as another boom rolled through.

"Not when I don't make them," Thor admitted. "But I know where we can go so we don't get wet. The village hall my people built is just over there." Thor pointed to a large building not too far away.

"I'm game if you are," Shuri stated as she grabbed Thor's hand and ran with him to the door as the sky opened up again.

Thor opened the door for them and allowed Shuri to enter before him. There was a fire burning in the fireplace and many of the people sat around enjoying each others company, sharing a meal, drinking, and telling old stories.

"How goes it, your Majesty?" Valkyrie said as she got up from the table she was sitting at. "Good evening, Queen Shuri," she offered a little more formally than she did with Thor.

"It's Princess again," Shuri admitted.

"But she'll be a Queen again soon enough," Thor added in.

Valkyrie looked to Thor and then to Shuri and then down to their joined hands where she saw the ring. It all fell into place. She gave Thor a smile before stepping up onto one of the tables. "Good people of Asgard! Raise your drinks! Get one if you don't have one because a proper toast is in order! Everyone, raise your glass and join me! Our King is getting married!"

The whole room erupted into cheers of congratulations.

Valkyrie stepped down from the table and handed Thor and Shuri a glass. "I hope this place has a lot of honey. We're going to need it to make all the mead for the Royal Wedding feast."


	14. Chapter 14

In the six months that followed the proposal, a majority of the wedding planning was left in Shuri's hands along with Nakia and the Queen Mother. Thor found himself actually spending more time with T'Challa than his future bride in most cases because this was not just a wedding but an alliance between two kingdoms.

Had Thor chosen a royal bride when they were still on Asgard, things would have been far easier. His bride would have become a princess in the House of Odin and Queen when he ascended. But Shuri had claims to Wakanda's throne in her own right and until T'Challa had children of his own, she was his successor. There was also the question of territory and sovereignty. Thanks to Shuri's kindness and generosity, Asgard's territory was technically part of Wakanda but it was still a separate kingdom. There were many questions to sort of before the wedding.

The first few meetings took place between just Thor and T'Challa just for the two of them to get to know each other but actually progress was made when Thor brought Loki into the negotiations. Thor had always stated that Loki was better at this than he was and his brother proved him right. In the terms of the Agreement, Wakanda and Asgard would retain separate sovereignty but would work together where mutual benefit was concerned. Technology, education, knowledge and resources would be freely and openly exchanged between the Asgardians and the Wakandans to benefit both societies. Thor would have a place on Wakanda's Grand Council and his seat would be inherited. Any children that Thor and Shuri might have would be first an heir to the throne of Asgard and would only inherit the throne of Wakanda if T'Challa's line ended with no heirs. If Shuri should reclaim the throne of Wakanda if T'Challa has no heirs, she would be both Queen of Wakanda and Asgard. Thor would not be King of Wakanda unless voted upon and approved by the Council.

* * *

Three days before the wedding, Shuri sat in her room packing all of her belongings to be moved over to Thor's palace in Asgard. It was a slow moving process. She kept pausing to reflect on her possessions and was deciding if they were coming with her or not. She also kept getting distracted with the fact she had not seen her future husband in a few days.

"What troubles you, daughter?" Ramonda asked as she paused at her daughter's door and saw the task she was trying to complete.

"It still seems odd not to have Thor and Loki just down the hall," Shuri sighed. "I know they moved into their own land a month ago but..."

Ramonda entered the room and sat down. "And in a few days, you will leave here and join them. I only hope that I get to see you still."

Shuri stood up and embraced her mother. "I won't be that far away."

* * *

It was an Asgardian tradition that the bride and groom did not see each other from dawn two days before the wedding until the wedding ceremony so as Shuri secretly escaped Wakanda's capital city to go to Asgard she deemed the night before that down was still fair game.

She had not been to the Asgardian palace more than a few times since Thor and Loki moved into it a month earlier. Wedding planning as well as daily routines had made it quite difficult. What she hadn't taken into account when she thought of her plans was how difficult it could be.

Without hesitation, Shuri walked into the palace without announcement. It would be her home in three days and Thor had already said she could come and go as she pleased. It surprised her when she was stopped by one of the servants.

"I wish to see the King," Shuri stated as she tried to continue.

"I'm sorry, Princess," the servant politely said as she stopped her. "The King has already retired for the evening and specifically requested not to be disturbed."

"I am very certain that it does not include me," Shuri stated again, trying to get aside.

"I am only following my King's orders, Princess."

Loki had been walking through the hallways when he heard the conversation between the two women and he knew it wasn't going well when he heard the agitation in Shuri's voice. "Is there a problem?" he spoke up, making his presence known.

Shuri sighed with relief. "Loki, I am very glad to see you."

"My Prince," the servant quickly bowed. "I am only following the King's request."

Loki held up his hands to calm the girl down. "I know you are but I assure you that the Princess is no interruption to the King. I will take her from here." He dismissed the girl before turning to Shuri. "My most profound apologies for that. They are just trying to do the best by Thor and in three days they will be bowing down to you as Queen."

"I just wanted to see him," Shuri admitted as she walked with Loki down to the suite that belonged to Thor. "But, if he's already gone to sleep, I don't want to disturb him."

"He's not asleep yet," Loki assured her. "He just wanted some time to himself. He's in his room reading or watching something on TV. I can guarantee that you are no disturbance to him." Loki knocked on Thor's door. "Brother, you have a visitor," he called through the door.

"Loki, I said I wanted some time to myself," Thor said through the door before he opened in and was stopped dead in his tracks. He was genuinely surprised to see Shuri there. "I wasn't expecting you."

"I had to see you," Shuri answered as she wrapped her arms around his neck before taking in the fact that he was standing there in a t-shirt and pajama pants. "Did I wake you?"

"No, not at all," Thor assured her as he let Shuri in and chased Loki away by closing the door behind them. "I was just watching a movie."

Shuri was in awe when she saw Thor's suite. It was enormous. Decorated in rich woods with intricate carvings. There was a large balcony past deep red curtains overlooking the lake and the savannas. Near the balcony was a small dining table with two chairs and a desk in a small library. There was a sitting area with several large couches and a huge TV on the wall. It actually didn't surprise Shuri that Thor had picked up some of the enjoyments that the Avengers had introduced him to. To the right of the king sized bed with his red quilt over it was the master bathroom with a bathtub big enough to swim in and a closed door. "What's behind the door?"

"The Queen's private dressing chamber with another door to your private suite," Thor explained. "For the times when you feel you need to get away from me."

"I don't see that happening," Shuri laughed.

"I'm bound do to do something stupid eventually," Thor laughed.

"I almost feel bad about that little room I gave you when I look at all of this," Shuri admitted. "This is amazing."

"I liked that room," Thor said softly as he wrapped her arms around Shuri's waist and kissed her gently. "I had everything I needed very close by. This doesn't feel like mine yet."  
"Can I ask why?"

"I haven't actually lived in Asgard's palace in quite a few years now," Thor admitted as he walked over to the bed and sat down on it before falling backwards onto it. "I've been either with the Avengers or on a different realm. I know it will eventually feel like mine but it doesn't yet."

Shuri crossed the room and crawled up onto the massive bed, sitting herself right on top of Thor's legs. "I can see where you are coming from when you explain it like that," Shuri stated as she ran her hands gently over his chest. "When you come from all sorts of adventures, this can be a little boring."

Thor slid his hands up to hold Shuri's hips as he pulled her a little further up. "I'm almost wishing that I didn't talk the other Avengers out of a Nerf battle tonight."

Shuri smiled as she placed her hands on Thor's shoulders. "Nerf battle could be fun but I'm curious about something. What does it take to get the God of Thunder on his back?"

Thor smiled as he slid his hands up from Shuri's hips to her back. "If it's you, you have but to ask." Thor tightened his grip a little bit and pulled Shuri down to kiss her before flipping them both over on to their sides facing each other. "If it's someone else, they won't gain that victory." Thor pulled Shuri closer to him. "Now, I have a question for you. What does it take to make a panther purr?"

"That you will just have to find out," Shuri teased.

Thor smiled. "Oh, I intend to."

* * *

The early morning was still engulfed in darkness when Thor stirred again. Still between the land of dreams and wakefulness, he didn't want to give into full consciousness yet. Waking up meant having to leave his bed where Shuri was warm and soft in his arms and nestled against him in sleep. Thor wanted to savor every second he had with Shuri before they were forced to be parted for the next two days. He tenderly placed kissed behind her ear as she slept, slowly moving down her neck and shoulders while caressing her bare skin with his hands.

Shuri slowly stirred under Thor's gentle kisses and loving touch. She rolled over and snuggled against his chest before reaching her hand up to his cheek and capturing his lips again, very eager to continue their activities from the night before.

A knock at the door brought everything to a sudden halt. "Brother?"

Thor groaned. "Apparently, you didn't learn from the first time."

"I have learned that lesson quite well. That's why I am still on the other side of the door," Loki commented. "There is a situation that will require your immediate attention. I have been informed that Nakia is waiting in the Grand Hall to take Shuri to her pre-wedding festivities and preparations. I was also informed that she was prepared to bring friends if necessary. I don't know about you but I have no intention on taking on the entire Dora Milaje. How honest would you like me to be?"

Shuri sighed and rested her head against Thor's chest. "You may tell Nakia that I will be down momentarily," she called out before Thor could answer. She gave Thor one last kiss before getting up from the bed and started to get dressed. "Do you know where my shirt went to?"

Thor got up and pulled his pajama pants back on. "Probably under the bed," he commented before crossing to the other side to embrace her once more. "I'm not the one kicking you out, you know."

"Two days will go by faster than you think," Shuri sighed.

Thor gently lifted Shuri's hand and kissed her knuckles before placing on more on her lips. "Friday can't come soon enough."

"I love you," Shuri whispered before she ducked out the door to join Nakia before Nakia came up to hunt her down.

As Shuri left, Loki came into the room.

"Not a word, Loki," Thor warned as he pulled his beaten leather armor out of one of the closets. He had a feeling he may need it today when T'Challa comes for him for the _Kirumbizi, a Wakandan ritual of fight and dance._

"I said nothing," Loki commented. "But I do think you are wanting her brother to try to kick your ass."

"He can certainly try, if he wishes," Thor said smugly. "But I think the odds are in my favor, especially with you and my friends with me."

"The Avengers are here already?" Loki asked.

"Of course they are," Thor stated as if it were obvious. "Even Barton came this time. He promised not to put a bolt through your head as you don't go into his again."

"I am fairly certain that I can abide by those terms as long as I am unprovoked," Loki replied.


	15. Chapter 15

The sound of drums summoned the Sons of Odin and the men of the Avengers to the Kirumbizi at dusk where some of Wakanda's best warriors were waiting for them. It all started when a Wakandan severely underestimated Loki in a knife fight and ended nearly twenty-four hours later with a spear battle between Thor and T'Challa which a winner could not be chosen between the two of them.

Many of the combatants succumbed to their exhaustion after cleaning up and getting something to eat. Loki was heading to his own rooms to retire for the night when he noticed a small sliver of light peeking out from beneath Thor's suite. He knocked before opening the door and entering. Thor's bed looked as if he had been thrashing around in it. The bed's occupant was not in it. Instead, he was out on the balcony, looking out in the night towards Wakanda's capital city.

"Is something wrong?" Loki asked quietly." I thought you went to bed hours ago."

"I couldn't sleep," Thor replied softly. "After being just down the hall from her for over a year, being here seems so far away."

"She was just here two days ago. Your bride will be back in your arms soon enough," Loki said warmly. He knew Thor had more on his mind or he wouldn't be staring off into the darkness on the night before his wedding. "There's something else bothering you."

Thor didn't say anything at first but the hard swallow and sniff gave him away. "I miss them and I wish they were going to be here tomorrow."

Loki didn't need to ask who Thor was talking about. He knew. He wrapped an arm around his brother's shoulders. "They're there...watching us from Valhalla."

Thor sniffed again. "It's not the same. I knew this day would come eventually. I didn't think about it really. But it never crossed my mind that they would not be there." Thor scrubbed away the stray tears with the heel of his hand. "Mother should be here fussing over Shuri. Father should be here welcoming her to our family. We would be far more drunk right now if Volstagg, Fandral and Hogun were here. Sif would be trying to make sure we behaved ourselves to some extent." Then Thor stopped talking. He couldn't go on. He couldn't continue naming those who were not here.

Every sniff, every tear that escaped his control, every shuddering breath went straight to the underlying guilt that plagued Loki and transformed it into a spike that went straight into his breaking heart. He may not have dealt the final blow that snuffed out each of these lives but his actions definitely led up to them. "I am so sorry, brother."

Thor swallowed hard. "It's not your fault," he said softly.

"Indirectly, it is," Loki admitted. "Choices I made led to these outcomes."

"You have said that you couldn't see the future," Thor started as he turned to his brother. "But, if you could and you saw what would come of your actions, would you have chosen differently?"

"Absolutely," Loki said without hesitation.

Thor pulled Loki into a hug at that one word and embraced him tightly. "No matter what has happened in the past, there is no one else I would choose to stand beside me as my Best Man. You are my brother and I love you. I always have and I always will."

Loki returned the embrace tightly. "We are two sides of a coin. There is no one without the other," he replied as he released from his brother. "I have something for you," Loki stated as a velvet bag appeared in his hands. "I knew that you would need a weapon for tomorrow and even though your Stormbreaker is magnificent, I figured a more elegant weapon would be appropriate for the occasion." Loki slowly pulled the bag away to reveal a sword with a blue steel blade and a wolf's head on the pommel.

Thor was more than a little surprised when he saw the blade. "That's the Eirenhar blade," he whispered. "How did you get this?"

"Mother gave it to me," Loki responded. "She figured that Father would bestow one of his weapons to you for your wedding but she wasn't sure if he would give me the same honor. It was passed down through her line and she gifted it to me."

"I can't take that from you, brother," Thor admitted with near guilt in his voice. "Mother gave that to you."

"Yes, she did give it to me and by that right it is mine to do with as I see fit," Loki agreed as he held the blade out for Thor. "You need an ancestral weapon for your wedding and I happen to have one. I am sure that both Mother and Father would agree. You have rights to this blade, just as I do."

Thor reluctantly reached out and took the sword from his brother's hand. "Thank you, brother. I will return this to you."

"Of course you will," Loki laughed. "I'm lending it to you not bequeathing it to you. Now, as your Best Man, I highly suggest you get to bed. Your bride will want you at your best tomorrow instead of looking like you haven't slept in about three days which I know is fairly accurate."

"I did sleep when Shuri was here," Thor countered.

"Do you actually think I believe that the two of you just slept when she was here?" Loki smirked

"I never said that."

Loki just smirked. "Good night, brother."

* * *

The sun shone brightly on a cool June morning. The wedding guests started to gather by the lake early in the morning, all in formal attire as this was a royal wedding. On the left were the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Korg and the Valkyrie. On the right, were representatives of all the tribes of Wakanda. The front row was left empty for T'Challa and the Queen Mother when they arrived. A gazebo had been set up next to the lake, decorated with red, purple and white flowers.

Once everyone had been seated, Thor and Loki took their places on the left side of the gazebo in their full Asgardian royal armor, From a distance, drums could be heard as the Wakandan royal family approached. The first barge had the Dora Milaje, carrying shields and spears, Nakia and the Queen Mother.

As Nakia stepped to the right side of the gazebo and Ramonda took her seat in the front row, Loki leaned in to whisper to Thor. "Are they coming to a wedding or a war?"

"Are we that much different?" Thor whispered back.

"Good point," Loki agreed.

The second barge approached with T'Challa escorting Shuri. Thor could not help but smile when he saw Shuri with her brother. Her dress sparkled and shone in the morning sun. Her bodice and long sleeves were made of gold lace. The white satin of her skirt clung to her much like a mermaid's tail and the split white cape she wore from her shoulders was as long as the train that trailed behind her. Flowers made of gold and precious stones were woven into the braids in her hair. She carried a bouquet of red, purple and white calla lilies in her hand.

T'Challa escorted his sister around the gazebo, giving his sister a kiss on the cheek before taking his own seat. Shuri smiled brightly when her gaze focused on Thor in front of her.

The Priestess of the Heart Shaped herb stepped forward. "We are gathered here today to bear witness and celebrate the wedding of Thor, son of Odin, King of Asgard and Shuri, daughter of T'Chaka, Princess of Wakanda. We are gathered here today to celebrate as they proclaim their love and commitment to the world. We are gathered to rejoice, with and for them, in the new life they now undertake together. Thor and Shuri, the relationship you enter into today must be grounded in the strength of your love and the power of your faith in each other. To make your relationship succeed it will take unending love. It will take trust, to know in your hearts that you truly want what is best for one another and to learn and grow together. It will take faith, to go forward together without knowing what the future holds. If you both come freely, and understand the responsibility and work involved to make your relationship thrive, and are committed to not only each other but your family, please take each other by the hands and reply "we do."

"We do," they responded in unison.

The Priestess poured wine into a chalice before her and held it up. "A proverb tells us that people who lack the knowledge of their past are like a tree without roots. So, in the spirit of remembrance, we pour this libation. We pour to honor the past, so that we may learn from it. We pour to honor the importance of family. We pour to celebrate the coming together of the families of these two people. It is said that through others, we are somebody. Through this marriage, we  
broaden our family circle, remember our heritage and recall those who gave us life. We call upon our ancestors – our mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers, our fathers, grandfathers and our great grandfathers, uncles, aunts and cousins - the foundations of our families, immortalized in our thoughts.

We call upon our elders, whose wisdom we seek in all endeavors. Our friends whom we are blessed to have in our lives, our parents who guided us along the road to adulthood. We call upon family who have passed over and could not be here today. We ask that they be with us in our thoughts. We call upon the bride and groom, that they may always find prosperity in love and devotion. We ask that this couple be blessed by children, because children give glory to a home." The priestess raises the chalice in each direction in a toast. "Therefore we cast our libations to the North, to the South, to the East and to the West." She handed the cup to Thor first and then Shuri to drink from. "And we ask for this union to be blessed by all."

The cup was set aside and a plate with vinegar, lemon, cayenne pepper, and honey was set before Thor and Shuri. "A marriage comes with many parts - bitter, sour, hot, and, of course, sweet. "The priestess sets the vinegar before them "Taste now the sour, for surely every life of integrity admits to its share of times which are less than perfect. As Thor and Shuri experience life's disappointments as well as successes, will we offer our love and support, without measure and without limit." Thor and Shuri sipped from the shot glass of vinegar, cringing as they swallowed.

The Priestess then set two lemon pieces in front of them. "Taste now the bitter, for surely every life of depth will know it moments of denial and rejection when we feel turned away by life. As Thor and Shuri encounter times when bitterness might take hold of their hearts, will we offer our guidance and wisdom, without measure and without limit." Thor and Shuri bit into the lemons at the same time and wondered if it was actually worse than the vinegar as they set them down.

The Priestess then set down another shot glass of cayenne pepper. "Taste now the hot, for surely there is spice and passion in every enduring relationship. As Thor and Shuri find and express their hearts' deepest longings, will we offer them our respect and encouragement without measure and without limit." Thor and Shuri dipped a finger in the cayenne pepper and offered it to each other, feeling it burn down their throats as they sucked it off.

The Priestess set down the honey. "And finally, taste now the sweet, for the abundance of life which has brought these two lovers here to be joined in marriage will continue to pour itself out for their enjoyment. As Thor and Shuri know the sweetness of married life in all of its ages and stages, will we offer our congratulations and benedictions without measure and without limit."

The Priestess called for the rings. Loki presented a yellow and rose gold ring with rubies and diamonds embedded in the band as Nakia handed a gold band with a platinum braid.

"Rings are made of precious metal, but that same metal is also made precious by wearing them. Your wedding rings are special because they enhance who you are. They mark the beginning of your long journey together. Your wedding ring is an unbroken circle, a symbol of love never ending with ends that have been joined together, and it represents your union. It is also a symbol of completeness, just as you two complete each other. It is a symbol of infinity, and of your infinite love. It encircles an opening, which is the door to your future. It is the seal of the vows you have just taken to love each other without end. When you look at these rings on your hands, be reminded of this moment, your commitment, and the love you now feel for each other.

"Thor, place the ring on Shuri's finger and repeat after me."

Thor's hands shook as he picked up the tiny ring and placed it on Shuri.

"As this ring encircles your finger… From this moment forward... So will my love forever encircle you... You will never walk alone... My heart will be your shelter... My arms will be your home... We will walk through life as partners & best friends... I promise to do my best to love, cherish and accept you... Just the way you are... I give you my heart until the end of time... I have no greater gift to give."

Holding her hand as he slid the ring down. "As this ring encircles your finger… From this moment forward... So will my love forever encircle you... You will never walk alone... My heart will be your shelter... My arms will be your home... We will walk through life as partners & best friends... I promise to do my best to love, cherish and accept you... Just the way you are... I give you my heart until the end of time... I have no greater gift to give."

The Priestess continued. "Now Shuri, place the ring on Thor's finger and repeat after me."  
Shuri smiled as she picked up his ring and took his hand in hers.  
"As this ring encircles your finger... from this moment forward... so will my love forever encircle you... You will never walk alone... My heart will be your shelter... My arms will be your home... We will walk through life as partners & best friends... I promise to do my best to love, cherish and accept you... just the way you are... I give you my heart until the end of time... I have no greater gift to give."

Shuri was actually far less nervous as she slid the ring down on Thor's finger. "As this ring encircles your finger… From this moment forward... So will my love forever encircle you... You will never walk alone... My heart will be your shelter... My arms will be your home... We will walk through life as partners & best friends... I promise to do my best to love, cherish and accept you... Just the way you are... I give you my heart until the end of time... I have no greater gift to give."

The Priestess then produced a long silk sash that had been embroidered with both the emblems of the Black Panther and Mjolnir. "Please take a hold of both hands," she instructed as she wrapped the silk around both of them. "This cord is a symbol of the connection of your two lives. As your hands are bound together by this cord, so are your lives bound together by marriage. Just as your rings, this symbolizes the bond shared between the two of you." The Priestess slipped off the silk without untying the knot. "Now, with great joy in front of all those who you hold dear, I pronounce you husband and wife. Thor, you may kiss your bride."

Without letting go of her hands, Thor leaned in and bent down to kiss Shuri's lips, which lead to an eruption of applause.

"It is my esteemed pleasure to present for the first time, Their Majesties, the King and Queen of Asgard."

* * *

Author's Note: I did have some help with this chapter with all the vows and ceremony so I need to give credit where credit is due.

 _libation ceremony -_ _This libation was based in part on those found in the_ _The Nubian Wedding Book: Words and Rituals to Celebrate and Plan an African-American Wedding_ _by Ingrid Sturgis._

tasting of the elements ceremony -  tips-and-tricks/great-wedding-ceremony-ideas-tasting-elements

 _ring ceremony - /wedding-training/ceremony-scripts_


	16. Chapter 16

November was by far the one of the hottest and wettest times of year in Wakanda. Life continued, whether it rained or not. Flooded out roads had to be dealt with and walls had to be reinforced against annual flooding. The weather could take a toll on people, especially when the humidity was at its peak. It affected some more than others. Many of the Asgardians had adapted well to the warmer climate of Wakanda versus the more moderate one of Asgard.

There was only one exception. Loki, who had more tolerance to cold rather than heat, started showing signs of something akin to heat exhaustion. After putting both the surviving Asgardian healers as well as Shuri into quite the panic, Loki managed to convince all of them that he would be better off in his own quarters where he promised he would stay hydrated, nourished and resting instead of being trapped in some medical ward. They reluctantly relented and left him to his own accord, only minimally checking on him.

The more regular visitor over the last several days was Thor. He would show up in the morning before leaving for the day and again in the early evening before dinner. Loki was almost able to set a clock by his brother's arrival until one very rainy afternoon. Loki had been dozing to the sound of the storms outside when his brother's unmistakable knock came at his door.

"You're early today," Loki commented as he bid Thor to enter.

"The rain was making things a challenge today," Thor stated as he took a seat. "Training is impossible when everyone gets stuck in the mud. How are you doing today? People have been asking for you."

"I am much improved," Loki replied. "But didn't you have to train in a swamp once to build endurance?"

"That was more of a punishment rather than training exercise," Thor laughed. "Father wasn't impressed by a few smart-ass comments I had made."

"Usually, I drew that ire," Loki laughed. "What did you say?"

"It was over a thousand years ago," Thor commented. "But it was something along the lines of him fighting lopsided with only one eye. Fate has a funny way of teaching a lesson."

"Some fates are crueler than others," Loki commented.

"Why don't you join us for dinner tonight?" Thor asked. "You haven't been out of your room for days.

Loki smiled. "I'm not exactly appropriately attired for a royal function," he stated as he pointed to his pajamas.

"This is not a royal function. I am not Father," Thor responded. "Shuri and I don't care what you're wearing."

Loki laughed. "Nevertheless, I would not want to be a third wheel. You two deserve your own time together."

"I want to make sure you're still taking care of yourself as well."

"I have been eating," Loki protested. "The servants make sure they have brought me food and drink regularly."

Thor sighed. He wasn't going to win this one. "Do you want me to stop by later?"

"I'll be fine. I'm not an invalid. Just go," Loki laughed as he threw a pillow at his brother's head.

Thor returned to his own rooms to find that Shuri had already returned from her labs for the evening. "Did everything go well today?" he asked as he kissed his wife.

"Very well in fact," Shuri replied. "I thought you were going to have Loki join us for dinner."

"He declined the invitation," Thor replied. "How did things go so well?"

"I had a great idea today," Shuri started. "Do you remember a few months ago when you jump started the Guardians' ship with a bolt of lightning?"

Thor nodded. "I distinctly recall you and Quill comparing me to a scene in that movie you both were talking about."

"Back to the Future," Shuri added in for her husband. "Anyway, I was curious as to how much power you can actually generate, and I want to do some experiments with it."

"No." The answer was quick and to the point.

"Every precaution will be taken and the amount of knowledge we can gather from this..."  
"No. It's not going to happen," Thor stated again. "Watch the video of the battle against Thanos and his minions. You can probably gather what you need from that."

Shuri huffed in frustration. "I can't calculate everything from that. I need the fresh data."

Thunder rumbled outside as Thor started to lose his temper. "I decimated an entire field when I landed. I took down whole alien crafts that were bigger than buildings. I drove Stormbreaker into his chest through the power of all six Infinity Stones. I will not unleash that much power just for sport. I don't know how far I can go and still pull it back. There may be a point where I can't pull it back."

"That's just one of the questions that I want to answer!" Shuri shouted.

"I will not put the people I love in that much danger!" Thor roared back as thunder and lightning ripped across the sky outside. "You and our child that you carry are what I hold dear above all else. I will not intentionally hurt my family. I am not my father."

"You are being unreasonable!" Shuri shouted before turning and leaving, slamming the door behind her.

Thor flinched as the door slammed. The skies opened with a torrential downpour as lightning lit up the night sky as bright as day.

* * *

It didn't take long for Shuri to reach Wakanda's capital, despite the torrential rain from her husband's storm. Her mind was still battling through the argument she had just had with Thor, so much so that she didn't notice her own brother standing there until she ran into him.

"What are you doing back here?" T'Challa questioned as he helped to steady his sister. "I thought you went home for the night."

"Thor was being completely unreasonable and I walked out," Shuri spat as she brushed the rain off herself.

"What happened?" T'Challa asked cautiously.

"I told Thor of the experiment I wanted to perform to test the limits of his abilities and he flat out refused. He didn't even give me a chance to elaborate."

T'Challa sighed. He knew this part of his sister well. The one where she got an idea in her head and no one was talking her out of it. "Did he give a reason for his refusal?"

"He claimed it was far too dangerous and he did not want to put his family at risk."

"Given that I have seen him in action firsthand, I am inclined to agree with him," T'Challa commented. "His power was indescribable and not easily harnessed."

"I have done risky experiments before and I have taken every precaution."

"But you weren't expecting a child," T'Challa pointed out. "I am going to still agree with Thor. He was thinking beyond himself but for you as well. I think by pursuing the issue, even with his logical and justified objections, you may have been the unreasonable one." T'Challa gently guided his sister to a chair and sat her down to let her process what he just said. "Tell me I'm wrong."

Shuri sat and let her temper cool down. "I can't," she quietly admitted as tears started to well in her eyes. "I was quite horrible to him."

"That explains the storm."

"Loki was right," Shuri sighed. "His storms do smell different."

* * *

The thunder that shook the palace roused Loki from the light sleep he had drifted into to. The lightning lit up his room as bright as day. It made his blood run cold. This was all Thor and he knew it. Something was wrong and he had to see what had befallen his brother to have him creating such a storm.

He cautiously made his way down to his brother's suite, knocking but not waiting for an answer before he opened the door. Just by the situation outside, Loki didn't need to ask something as foolish if Thor was alright. It was plainly obvious that he wasn't. "Brother?"

Thor knew Loki had come in his room without turning away from the window. "So, this is what gets you out of your room?" he ground out.

"When the whole palace is shaking from every crack of thunder, I am going to come check on you," Loki countered as he looked around and found the two of them were alone. "What happened? Where's Shuri?"

Thor didn't answer right away but Loki could see his hands shaking as he was trying desperately to control the storm inside of him. "We had a disagreement and she walked out," Thor finally whispered.

"What did the two of you disagree on?"

"She thought she should test my power as a battery and I disagreed," Thor responded.

"Given the fact that I have seen you in action, I would agree with that assessment," Loki stated calmly as he approached his brother. "Why don't you come over here and sit down?" he suggested as he moved towards one of the couches.

Thor turned around cautiously at first. He could feel his lightning surging through him. "I'll hurt you," Thor whispered.

"Better me than Shuri," Loki added as he beckoned his brother to join him. "I can take it if I need to."

Thor started walking over to the couch. As he got closer, Loki could feel the currents coming off him. Loki gently nudged him to sit with a hand on his shoulder. Once Thor had sat down, he poured his brother a drink and pressed it into his shaking hands.

Thor sipped at the liquid in front of him, not even thinking to look what it was first. He looked down into the glass to see only water. "I can't lose them both. Not now."

"My guess is that she was only frustrated and left to cool off as you are now," Loki pointed out as the storm outside slowed down. "You won't lose her. She will return when she is ready."

No sooner the words left Loki's mouth, the door opened and Shuri walked back in.

Loki nodded as he stood to take his leave. This was not his place now. "You know where I am if you need me," he told his brother before bowing his head to Shuri and slipping out the door behind her.

Thor stood from where he was seated. "I want to…"

Shuri held up her hand to stop him. "You have nothing to apologize for. It is I who need to apologize. I was wrong to push you even after you told me no and with valid reasons. It was irresponsible of me to ask such things of you. I should have known better than to question the powers of the gods."

Thor smiled as he pulled Shuri into his arms. "I am sorry for losing my temper. I never want to chase you away again."

"You didn't chase me away," Shuri sighed as she rested her head on her husband's chest. "I needed to calm down and refocus."

Thor knew Loki was right. "So, now what do we do?"

"I wish to forget this happened. I want nothing more than a long bath and to go to bed."

Thor placed a kiss on the top of her head before releasing her. "As you wish."

Shuri left Thor's embrace and headed into the master bath and started the water for the tub. As the water filled, she popped her head back out. "You're coming, aren't you?"

Thor didn't need to be asked twice. "Absolutely."

* * *

The rain came to a gentle end as those who lived in the palace slept. It was far more peaceful than the raging thunderstorm that had rocked everyone to their core earlier. The only disturbance to the peace was a cell phone ringing.

Shuri reluctantly opened her eyes to see which of the two phones next to her was being so irritating. Hers was silent. The one given to Thor by Tony was decidedly otherwise. She picked up the phone to see who was calling at such an obscene hour and could only sigh when she saw Tony Stark's face. "You had better have a good reason for calling," she snapped as she answered the phone.

"You're not Point Break?" Tony responded with confusion. "I was pretty sure that I dialed Thor's number."

"He's asleep."

"But I need to talk to him. Can you put him on?" Tony insisted.

Shuri sighed knowing very well that Thor was not in the best of moods when he was woken up before he wanted to. "I hope you have your armor on because when he gets pissed, he's going to come straight for you." She reached up to the large arm that was lovingly draped over her in sleep and shook his shoulder gently, hoping to minimize the blow. "Tony wants to talk to you."

Thor groaned as he grabbed the phone without opening his eyes. As he did, his larger fingers accidentally put it on speaker phone. "What's wrong?" he growled.

"Hey Point Break? What's up?" Tony said a little too cheerfully for Thor's taste in the middle of the night.

"Not the sun so get to the point," Thor snapped.

"Tony, who are you on the phone with?" Pepper asked from the background.

"Thor and Shuri. You told me to call them and invite them," Tony responded.

"Yeah, I said to call them hours ago, Tony," Pepper scolded.

"What's the difference? I still did it," Tony protested.

"There's a seven-hour time difference, Tony. It's two in the morning there," Pepper admonished him. "You know for a genius, sometimes you have no common sense."

"Right now, I'm inclined to agree with Lady Pepper," Thor added sleepily. "What are you inviting us to?"

"So, yeah...let me cut to the chase before one of you kills me. We wanted to get the whole family together for Thanksgiving in the Avengers compound. So, you and Shuri would come ASAP. We hang out, play games, watch movies, eat an obscene amount of food and then the women can engage in 'combative shopping' as Nat called it on Black Friday. So, you two in?" Tony rattled off.

"What about other family members?" Thor asked first.

"Who did I miss?" Tony asked.

"Shuri's family?"

"Sure, I love T'Challa. Bring him, Nakia, the Queen mother. Totally cool with that."

Thor paused. "My brother?"

"I told you before, we are cool with Loki now as long as he doesn't try to mess with anyone's head or try to kill anyone. I believe he and Barton came to an arrangement," Tony replied.

"They did. Loki promised no mind games and Barton promised not to put a bolt between his eyes," Thor replied before looking down at Shuri who had rolled over and nuzzled up against his chest. "So, what do you think? Want to visit New York?"

"I'd love to. The last time I was there, we only got to go to the UN," Shuri said through a yawn.

"Good. That's settled. See you all on Wednesday. My apologies for waking you. Have a good night," Tony stated before he hung up.

"Sounds fun," Shuri said as she got comfortable on Thor's chest as he rolled on to his back. "Now, I just need to convince my brother."

"You deal with yours and I'll deal with mine," Thor yawned, kissing his wife before going back to sleep.

* * *

When morning broke, Shuri went off to Wakanda's capital to work in her lab and on her brother, leaving Thor to deal with Loki.

Thor had breakfast prepared for him and his brother as he waited for him in the dining hall. He did not have to wait long, knowing Loki was the earlier riser of the two of them. "Good morning, brother," he greeted warmly as he gestured for his brother to join him.

"Good morning," Loki returned as he sat down. "You seem to be in an exceptionally good mood this morning. More so than usual, which is a complete reversal from last night."

"Why should I not be in a good mood?" Thor questioned as he started to make his plate. "Everything is quite splendid now. Our people are doing well. I have a beautiful wife and our child grows within her every day. I have my brother by my side. I see nothing to be bothered about."

Loki was not convinced. "Did you have Shuri both before bed and when you awoke this morning?" he asked bluntly.

"I will not honor that with a response," Thor countered.

"You did," Loki replied dryly. "What are you up to? Something is going on."

"Why would you think that something is going on?"

"You do not have the penchant for lies and deception that I do," Loki responded. "What are you up to, brother?"

Thor smiled. "I have heard from my friends last night."

"Your friends, the Avengers?"

Thor nodded. "They wish for us to join them for the upcoming Giving of Thanks weekend. I made sure that all of our family was invited."

"So, you want me around all your Avenger friends for an entire holiday weekend?" Loki questioned. "Didn't we tempt fate enough with your wedding?"

"My friends have put their issues with you behind them after the Restoration," Thor reassured his brother. "Even Barton held up his end of the bargain."

Loki couldn't argue with that. "And if I choose to refuse?"

"I will just have to harass you until you concede defeat and give in," Thor said with a smile as he popped a grape into his mouth. "I can go on for quite some time if I need to."

Loki sighed in defeat. "I have no desire to listen to you go on an endless tirade of nothing. When do we depart?"

"This evening at midnight."

* * *

"Oh, come off it, T'Challa!" Shuri growled. "Wakanda will not fall to utter ruin because the illustrious king T'Challa is not here for five days. You were gone for months and we did just fine. We are going to New York, not outer space. I am pretty damn sure that if someone needs to reach you Tony Stark has phones, computers and access to planes. Hell, Thor could bring you back by Bifrost if it was really necessary."

"Speaking of Thor, who is staying in his stead?" T'Challa calmly countered to his sister.

"The Valkyrie."

"Not Loki?" T'Challa posed curiously. "I thought Loki was his second."

"Loki is coming with us," Shuri replied. "This is a family affair. Thor is speaking with his brother right now."

T'Challa hesitated, much to his sister's annoyance.

"Never mind. I give up," Shuri cried out. "Mother, Nakia and I will go and you can just stay here all by yourself."

"I am king. Doesn't my opinion mean anything?"

"Not when you have been overruled by three queens."

* * *

After a fifteen-hour flight, the Wakandan Royal cruiser set down at the Avengers compound a little after eight in the morning. They were welcomed warmly by Steve, Bruce and Pepper as she was carrying hers and Tony's fifteen month old daughter, Morgan.

"You made it just in time for breakfast," Steve commented as he helped with several pieces of the luggage.

"Good, I'm starving," Thor laughed. "It was a long flight. The Bifrost is so much faster."

"You slept through most of it," Shuri chimed in.

"It could have been worse," Thor shrugged. "Where's Tony? I thought he would greet us since he was the one who called us."

"I am eager to see this so-called lab that Thor keeps going on about," Shuri added.

"Shuri, be nice," Ramonda warned as she exited the plane.

"Don't let Tony hear you trash his lab. He won't like it," Bruce laughed.

"I gave him a few things to do since all he was doing was being a pest," Pepper laughed. "I hope he is currently updating all the baby proofing since Morgan is a non-stop walker now," Pepper explained as she hugged everyone. When she got to Shuri, she smiled brightly. "I didn't realize you were as far along. I lost track of when Thor told us."

Shuri laughed as she rubbed her belly. "Twenty-three weeks now. Thor told everyone as soon as we found out. He was so happy."

"I have right to be!" Thor called back.

"You keep reminding us," Loki chimed in, earning a laugh from T'Challa.

* * *

After breakfast, Laura Barton took over the kitchen for pre-Thanksgiving preparations. She summoned help or banished it as necessary. Pepper, Ramonda, Nakia and May Parker were the most helpful while the rest of the Avengers scattered at Clint's strong suggestion, knowing full well what his wife was like at Thanksgiving.

Shuri followed Bruce to Tony's lab where she could finally see what he was working on. "So, this is what Thor has been going on and on about. He says he's usually not allowed in here."

"He would short out most of my stuff," Tony casually replied.

Shuri shrugged. "I guess you need better surge protection then because he comes in mine all the time and not one short."

Tony muttered something under his breath, choosing to ignore the comment further. "So, what have you been focusing on? Nanotechnology is my current interest."

"I haven't explored that yet. With us, we weave the armor out of the vibrainium itself and use its properties from there," Shuri explained as she explored the lab. She lightly perused most of what was going on but something under a sheet caught her attention. She lifted the sheet to reveal what she thought was an armored remote control car. "What is this?"

"A battle bot," Tony said proudly.

"Tony, do you remember what happened the last time you built a robot for battle?" Bruce asked cautiously.

"This is not Ultron. This doesn't have AI or anything. It runs on a remote control. It's like DUM-E's smaller and dumber little brother," Tony replied.

"But it's armed to the teeth and armor plated," Bruce mentioned. "Does Pepper know about this thing?"

"Of course she knows. She said I needed a less destructive hobby. I only destroy my opponent in an arena battling robots." Tony then had an idea. "Hey Shuri, think you could hook me up with some vibrainium to reinforce the armor? The combination of my nanotech and weapons with vibrainium could be an interesting combination," Tony suggested.

"Yes, I believe I could," Shuri replied with a sudden grunt of pain.

"Are you alright?" Bruce asked cautiously.

Shuri's hand went to the side of her pregnant belly as another sharp pain made her cry out and brought her to her knees. "I'm not sure."

"Why don't I bring you up to the medical wing where our doctor, Helen Cho, can check you out?" Bruce suggested.

Shuri was breathing hard through the lingering pain. "I want Thor with me."

Bruce shot a quick look towards Tony as he walked with Shuri.

"I'm on it," Tony reassured. "FRIDAY, I need a location on Thor STAT."

"Please, don't leave me alone," Shuri pleaded as they approached the medical wing.

"Shuri, I promise that I will not leave until Thor gets here," Bruce reassured her as Helen greeted her and brought her in to get examined, taking blood and attaching a fetal monitor.

* * *

In one of the training rooms, Clint, Natasha, Steve, Bucky, Sam, Thor and Loki had taken refuge from being conscripted into kitchen duty. It soon became a competition of marksmanship between Clint, Natasha, Bucky and Loki. Throw after throw, every target was hit. Not a single miss from any of them.

"Come on, Buck. I've been watching you hit cans with rocks since the 20's. This is cake," Steve called out.

"Come on, Loki! For Asgard," Thor cheered him on.

"I don't see you out here defending Asgard's honor," Loki spat as he landed one of his knives dead center on the target."

"When a hand to hand battle comes up, I will be more than happy to step in. Steve and I love a friendly sparring match," Thor laughed.

"Say when and where," Steve agreed happily.

"What are we? Yesterday's news?" Natasha asked, slightly offended. "We've been friends for over ten years and not a single bit of support over here while you two are gushing over two people who we've had to do battle with on one occasion or another."

"To be fair, I've known Bucky for nearly a century and he wasn't necessarily in his right mind when we had to fight against him," Steve interjected.

"Both of you were frozen for a big chunk of those hundred years," Natasha countered.

"Loki and I have been either trying to take out the other one or back the other up for over 1500 years. Old habits don't go away easily," Thor shrugged.

"You're that old?" Clint asked incredulously. "I never would have guessed that one."

Natasha turned to the only other person in the room. "Sam?"

Sam held up his hands. "Listen, I am currently in a room with two master assassins, two super soldiers and two gods. I'm staying neutral."

"Fine, you all want to make this a little more interesting?" Clint asked. "A little side wager perhaps?"

"I never gamble," Loki said coolly.

Thor shot his brother a shocked look. "That is complete bull shit."

Loki rolled his eyes. "You've been on this planet for too long."

"Loki, I've personally seen you swindle, cheat or trick money or prizes from a good part of Asgard's high society. Don't give me this shit that you don't gamble," Thor commented.

"That wasn't gambling. I knew I couldn't lose," Loki said confidently.

"Loser does all the dishes tomorrow?" Clint posed.

"Sounds fair to me," Buck agreed.

Tony skidded to a stop when he saw the training room. "Thor, you need to come with me to the medical wing now."

Thor's smile vanished. "What's wrong?"

"Bruce just brought Shuri up there."

The room suddenly fell silent. The only sound was that of Loki's blade hitting the floor instead of the target.

Thor scrambled to his feet and ran, far ahead of Tony, to the medical wing. He skidded to a stop by the door with Tony giving up trying to keep up with him. Bruce stepped aside to allow Thor inside and then pulled Tony back to give them their privacy.

Shuri smiled with relief when Thor walked in. She held out her hand for his as he took a seat next to her.

"That's interesting," Cho commented as she looked at the monitors.

"What is?" Shuri questioned.

"Despite the fact that I know you're scared, your heart rate started to calm down as soon as he came in," Cho responded as she prepared for the ultrasound.

"Then don't check mine," Thor muttered quietly. "What's going on?"

"Shuri experienced some strong pain and Bruce brought her up here," Cho said calmly as she glided the wand over Shuri's belly. "We have taken blood and had a fetal monitor hooked up since she got up here. She's not contracting or dilating. There's nothing showing up in her blood to make me worry. As I am looking at the baby's position here, I think the baby kicked a nerve and kicked it hard and that was the source of the pain that Shuri experienced."

Thor and Shuri were both holding their breath as they watched their baby move on the screen. "So, everything is fine?" Thor questioned.

"I want to keep the monitors on a little bit longer, but I believe there is nothing to worry about. I'll come back in a bit to finish everything off."

* * *

Bruce and Tony had stayed behind, waiting in the anteroom for any word from Thor. Soon, they were joined by Steve, Natasha and Clint. They were a bit surprised when the outer door opened to reveal Loki behind it.

"What are you all still doing here?" Loki questioned cautiously.

"We wanted to stay just in case Thor needed anything," Bruce replied.

"What took you so long to get here?" Tony added.

Loki rolled his eyes. "I was informing T'Challa, Nakia and the Queen Mother about the situation with Shuri. They had the right to know," he explained, annoyed with the fact that he even had to do so. "Has there been any word?"

Bruce shook his head. "Not yet."

* * *

After Dr. Cho had left, Thor slid into the bed next to Shuri and gathered her in his arms. Shuri rested her head against his shoulder and all the stress and fear that she had been holding in thus far came tumbling out as she burst into tears. Thor held her tighter, letting her cry and get it out as tucked his head against hers, his own tears falling silently into her hair.

"I was so scared," Shuri gasped out when she found her voice again. "The thought that something could have happened to the baby terrified me."

"You're not the only one," Thor whispered.

Shuri lifted her head and finally saw the tear tracks that remained on her husband's face.

"How did you think I would feel when Tony came running in and told me that you were up here? I was terrified," Thor stated to answer the question that wasn't even asked. "You and the baby are my world and I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you. Hell, even Loki knows that I would throw him into danger to get you out of it."

"Can we get out of here?" Shuri asked quietly.

Thor nodded. "Absolutely. I will see it done. I will return in a few moments."

Thor stepped out of the hospital room visibly exhausted and wrecked as he wiped at his eyes with the heels of his hands. He almost didn't even realize that Tony, Bruce and Loki were even there.

"How do Shuri and the child fare?" Loki asked first.

Thor didn't answer at first but hugged his brother to try to center himself before he could speak.

Loki had a sick feeling as he embraced his brother. Something had to be wrong. "Brother?"

"Shuri and the baby are fine," Thor said shakily as he pulled back. "The baby had kicked exceptionally hard and struck a nerve."

"Thank the Norns for that. The child has your strength," Loki commented, trying to lighten his brother's mood.

"Loki, I seek out Dr. Cho. Could you please go sit with Shuri? I don't want her alone," Thor requested, the authoritative tone of a king masking how much he was falling apart.

Loki nodded respectfully. "Of course, brother."

As Loki slipped away, Thor let out a deep sigh as he ran his fingers through his short hair. One by one, each of the Avengers stepped forward to embrace their friend. They tried to give him the support he needed to hold things together when he was so obviously failing.

"Now, how are _YOU_ doing?" Tony asked as he stepped forward and pulled Thor into a hug, feeling the god of thunder trembling still.

"Trying to get better," Thor admitted, unable to hide the tremor in his voice.

"You are not alone in this, buddy," Clint added. "I've been through it three times with Laura and I will tell you there is some shit about pregnancy that scares the sheer hell out of me."

"I'd be in the same boat as you if it were Pepper and Morgan in there," Tony admitted.

"You tell us what you need, what you want, and we'll get it done," Steve interjected.

"You know full well that if it had been necessary Tony would have had the best neonatologists in the world here and a full NICU set up before that baby took its first breath," Natasha said reassuringly.

"One phone call," Tony affirmed.

Thor sniffed and wiped at his eyes. "Thank you, my friends. I could not ask for better people to have beside me."

"What's our orders, Point Break?" Tony asked.

"I need to get my wife out of here," Thor stated.

"We'll get Cho right down here," Bruce reassured him.

Thor thanked everyone again. "I better get back in there. Whenever I leave Loki and Shuri together for too long, they plan unexpected surprises like my third coronation."

* * *

By the early evening, things had mostly settled down. All preparations for Thanksgiving that could be done the day before were done and Tony took the liberty to order Chinese food and spread the word that it was movie and game night to start Thanksgiving off right. Natasha took up the task of bringing plates and utensils to the common room and was a little surprised to find Loki taking up one of the armchairs. "I didn't know you were in here. I thought you would have been with Thor and Shuri all this time."

"My brother and Shuri are resting from their ordeal earlier. They were both quite exhausted after all of it even though Thor would never admit and he will thoroughly deny it if you ask him," Loki replied as he looked up from his book. "I thought it best to give them their space for now. I'm still watching my brother's back when he is unable to."

"What did you do?" Natasha asked, trying to keep the accusing tone out of her voice.

"It's just a restorative healing web and a protection spell on the room. Nothing harmful," Loki commented casually. "Lady Natasha, you still don't trust me, do you?" Loki countered.

"Given your track record, would you?" Natasha replied.

Loki shrugged. She did have a point. "But other than that unfortunate day in 2012 and then my more unfortunate incarceration, I have done my best to stay on Thor's good side. Whether you believe me or not, I do care for my brother and have for a very long time and Shuri has done absolutely nothing wrong by me. I owe her my life." Loki then paused and he knew he didn't hide the subtle shift in his demeanor from Natasha. She was one of the few who could sneak up on him. "I loathe to think what would have become of Thor if anything had happened to Shuri or the child. He would not have taken things well at all."

"Go on. You don't just leave a statement like that hanging out there," Natasha encouraged.

"When I was first rescued, as I hung between life and death, I heard Thor's voice calling me back. He was in so much despair and it hurt to hear him like that. I fear he may have fared worse if something had befallen his wife or child," Loki elaborated.

"But it didn't. Everything ended up fine and he's not alone. He has his friends as well," Natasha stated. "Speaking of friends, you may want to go get them. Tony ordered a couple of thousand dollars worth of Chinese food and we still need to battle for movie choosing rights."

"Battle?" Loki questioned. "What sort of battle are we talking about here?"

"I'm guessing that Thor never told you about the Great Nerf War of 2014."


End file.
